Rebirth II: Consequences
by BunBunBabe
Summary: Here is the second half of Rebirth the final story in the Worth the Risk Series, All the answers are in here, even a few that you may not even know you wanted to ask. So sit back and enjoy plez R&R like always
1. Prologue

(( Thank you everyone for reading this far and welcome to part two of the Rebirth story, here is where everything comes together and hopefully this story is done before or mostly done before the new season, I want to thank Pepe for betaing of course, and all my fans for reading all five stories, I also want to thank everyone for making this story a lot of fun. so here we go))

Warning: dark angst and self harm in the prologue

**~Prologue~**

As Neal sat in his prison cell he looked across the small cell at the tally marks that littered the wall counting down the days until his release. When the buzzer sounded for dinner the cell door opened and Neal propped his feet up on the end of the bed and lay down on the barely comfortable bed. Neal watched the other white collar inmates walk by his cell, turning away from the noise Neal sighed and closed his eyes. He had only been in jail two months but it felt like years had passed already. When the noise died down Neal sat up quickly and right away he wished he hadn't as the vertigo from his lack of eating caught up with him. Throwing his hands out, he caught himself on the hard floor. _ Not one of my smarter moves but then again… then again not thinking things through is what got me sent back here this time…_Neal thought as he pushed himself into a seated position on the floor.

"Caffrey it's time to eat," one guard said as he came up to Neal's door, he knew Neal well he was one of the only guards on the wing that had been there when Neal had been incarcerated the first time around. "I'm not really hungry right now…is there any chance I can make a couple phone calls?" Neal asked softly as he looked up with his puppy dog eyes. The guard nodded "I'll give you twenty minutes and if anyone asks you're calling you're lawyer," he remarked as he watched Neal struggle to stand and walk out of the cell. Once they got to the phones Neal dropped his body into a chair and dialed number at the office first, after four rings the other line picked up. "Hey Peter… I just called to see how you were doing," Neal said in a hopeful tone.

Peter pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "Stop calling me Neal, you almost cost me my job with this last stunt and for what…information about Kate's death… which you never got, go bother someone else I have a job to do," Peter said before he slammed his phone down on the cradle and went back to looking over the case file on his desk. Neal lowered the phone away from his ear, slowly hanging the phone back up he lifted it off the cradle again and dialed the Burke's home number.

After four rings Neal gave a weak smile when he heard Elizabeth on the other end. "Neal…is everything alright?" she asked right away she knew something was wrong, "Neal you didn't call Peter again did you?" when she didn't hear a response she knew it was true. "Oh sweetie… I know it hurts right now but Peter just needs some more time to calm down," Elizabeth said as she sat down at the dinner table. Neal looked at the floor and put his head against the wall. "It just hurts so much especially when he told me to stop calling… well I should be going," he said softly before hanging up.

Elizabeth sighed as she put the phone back down and went into the kitchen to start dinner, and continued to sigh as she started to work on the chicken. _Neal has eight more months left to his sentence, hopefully by then Peter will have calmed down and they can be friends again…I hope,_ Elizabeth thought thinking about the younger man who she considered to be family.

* * *

><p>As the months passed by Neal had systematically shut himself off from his family and friends enough that he was surprised to hear one day that he had a visitor. Neal walked down the hall to the visitor's room, when he got there he saw Peter waiting for him with a stack of papers. Neal quietly took his seat and looked at Peter. "Hey Peter…I didn't know you were coming to visit, so have you come to get me out?" Neal asked hopeful that he would be getting out of prison. Clearing his throat Peter picked up the first packet of papers and handed them over to his ex. "These are for you to read and sign, they are the new restrictions and rules you will have to follow if you want to be back working at the FBI. You will have a six p.m. to six a.m. curfew, a one mile radius, and you can miss your curfew only if it is work related. I have the right to search your phone records from time to time and also to monitor who you are in contact with and punish you as I see fit for breaking these rules," Peter said keeping his eyes down.<p>

Neal picked up the papers and began to read down the list. "So if I sign this I can go home with you?"Neal asked with a small smile hoping that he could rekindle some sort of relationship with Peter. "No, not with me, I have better things to do than drive you around like a chauffeur…you will have to wait until you're release, and then someone from the FBI will be sent with a new tracking device and they will take you back to June's where you can iron out any living arrangements with her," Peter stated in an uninterested tone. "Peter, are you ever going to forgive me for lying?" Neal asked softly.

"Why should I…I offered to help you with your problem before I even knew the truth and you lied… over and over again; you knew it was wrong and yet you still did it. So tell me why I should even think of taking you back, you barely listen to me and you seem to always have a hidden agenda and…" Peter dropped his voice so as not to be overheard by the corrections officer. "To be honest I actually thought that relationship would make you listen but apparently all the sex in the world can't keep you from committing crimes," Peter remarked in a low voice. Neal felt sick, he slowly stood up and walked to the door and waited for the guard to open the door. "Neal wait…you forgot to sign this," Peter said holding up the paperwork. Walking back to the table Neal snatched the pen off the table and signed the paper before dropping the pen and walking out of the visitor's room he walked down the hall to the cell blocks.

Peter collected the paper work and left the visitor's room as he handed his visitor's pass in at the exit he took his gun back and left the prison to get home before it got late. Making his way through some traffic Peter arrived home just as Elizabeth was pulling dinner out of the oven. "Hey hon, how's Neal… is glad to be coming home in a few months?" she asked with a smile. "I guess we really didn't talk I just explained the paperwork and he signed it, nothing really else to talk about," Peter remarked as he grabbed a beer from the fridge and made his way to the table.

Elizabeth sighed "I wish you would just apologize to Neal, he tried to protect you as best as he could… I know you still love him deep down and you're upset that you had to lock him away again," she remarked as she put the food on the table and sat down. "I'm not so sure El, it's possible, I don't really want to talk about it right now," Peter said before taking a swig of his beer. They ate dinner in silence, when they were finished Peter parked himself on the couch and started to flip through the sports channels, Elizabeth put the leftovers away and sat at the table in front of her lap top to plan a big party for a rich client.

* * *

><p>Neal had been sitting on the floor of his cell since his return, after slowly getting to his feet he looked at his reflection in the mirror with his mind still stuck on the words Peter had said to him in the visitor's room. Grabbing his pillow of his cot he ripped the case off it before wrapping it around his hand, pulling his hand back Neal punched the mirror with his wrapped hand. The mirror shattered into jagged pieces most of them landing in the sink or on the floor. Pulling the pillow case off his hand Neal began to fish through the sink filled with broken glass until he found a very sharp shard. Once he had the shard in his hand he sat back down on the floor his legs bent up as he looked at the mirrored glass in his hands.<p>

_I was so stupid to even think it was real…I can't even be sure Kate's love was real but I know now that what I had with Peter was never real he made that clear today…how could I fall for such an obvious trick…_ _again_ Neal thought as he put the mirror shard against his wrist and pushed down until he felt the glass pierce his skin. Pulling the shard across his wrist he barely winced as he felt his skin give under the glass, moving the shard to his other hand he gripped the mirror as tight as he could in his weakened hand. Resting the glass against his uncut wrist he put his head back against the cot as he slit his other wrist.

Closing his eyes Neal started to feel lightheaded from the blood loss, breathing slowly he swore he heard voices yelling. Forcing his eyes open Neal saw one of the guards talking to him as they moved his arms up over his head to slow the blood flow. Mumbling incoherently Neal tried to pull away from the guard. With no success Neal gave up and let his head fall back against the cot as he started to lose consciousness. Closing his eyes again Neal let the medical staff take him out of his cell and to the medical wing.

* * *

><p>Peter turned the television off when the game finally ended a few minutes before midnight and as he started to walk past the table where Elizabeth was still hard at work at her computer someone began banging on the front door with enough force to nearly break the glass. Elizabeth got up from the table and walked over to the door and opened the door," Nick… what are you doing here?" Elizabeth asked noticing at once the haggard look Nick had. Nick pushed his way into the house and made his way toward Peter tightening his hand into a fist as he came closer. He cocked it back and punched Peter as hard as he could. Peter caught himself on the bookcase before he hit the floor. "Stay the hell away from my brother you bastard…"Nick said as he stood over the FBI agent and began to breathe heavy.<p>

Elizabeth ran over to her husband and helped him stand up, "Nick what's gotten into you?" she asked as she helped Peter to a chair. Nick watched Peter like a hawk. "You won't be coddling him much longer… I've been sitting in the prison hospital with my brother trying to find out why he cut his wrists, and after four hours I managed to find out that you're loving husband showed his true colors today… so go on Burke tell her or I will," Nick remarked as he stood across the room from Peter. When Peter wouldn't say anything Nick nodded his head and chuckled coldly.

"It seems that your husband finally decided to tell Neal the truth. According to my brother, Burke over there only slept with him to keep him occupied and keep him from committing crimes, and that was after my brother practically begged for forgiveness. You have a lot of nerve to say what you did and I'll leave it at that, but before I go let me just leave you with this warning… come near my brother again and I don't care who's watching I will shoot you and I'll make sure you bleed out slowly," Nick warned.

Turning on Peter like a mad woman Elizabeth looked at him with a mixture of anger and sadness. "How could you say something like that to Neal…and you lied to me, that makes you a hypocrite doesn't it… you're mad at Neal for lying and then you go and lie to him and me I want you out…just pack your things and just get out of here…" she yelled furious at her husband.


	2. Conman Sense

(( here is chapter 1 I hope you all read and review or no new chapter for you haha I do not own, I want to say thank you to the fans for reading and reviewing thanks peppe for reviewing again I hope you all enjoy))

**Chapter1:Conman Sense  
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Neal walked out of the prison gates two weeks after his suicide attempt and looking around he spotted Diana and Elizabeth waiting for him by Elizabeth's car. Both women walked over to him and looked him over. Elizabeth smiled sadly when she saw how scared Neal looked. "Oh Neal, come here…shh everything is going to get better soon I promise," she said softly as she hugged Neal and led him to the car. "Now I know you want to go back to June's but she's out of the city for the week on a family emergency and we decided that it would be better if you weren't home alone tonight so I'm taking you home with me until June comes back," Elizabeth added as she opened the back door for Neal. "But isn't Peter going to be there, I don't want to see him right now… not after you know… my attempt," Neal said softly as he looked away ashamed.

"I guess I should be the one to tell you that Peter and I are temporarily separated. I threw him out the night your brother came and told us what happened," Elizabeth said as she filled Neal in on what had happened. "So because of me you two aren't together anymore…" Neal said as he climbed into the backseat of the car. "No…no, Neal this is not your fault it's his, so please don't blame yourself at all, now when we get home Diana is going to put your new tracker on," she reassured him before closing the back door and getting into the front seat with Diana. Neal looked down at the floor, he felt terrible that his pain had ruined someone else's marriage. Driving back home Elizabeth watched Neal in the rearview mirror ever chance she got and when she pulled up in front of her house she parked the car and helped Neal inside.

Looking around the house Neal walked over to the couch and sat down as Satchmo ran up and began barking happily at him. "Neal, I have to drive Diana back to the office and sign a few papers to say that I'm taking responsibility of you until you go back to June's, now I'll only be gone an hour and a half two hours maximum. While I'm gone feel free to do anything you like, read, watch a movie, eat something, Nick told me you've lost at least thirty pounds since you went in," Elizabeth said as she walked out and went back to her car where Diana had taken to blaring the horn a couple times to get Elizabeth's attention. Neal smiled as he looked at the dog he sighed. "I didn't mean to ruin their marriage Satchmo… I don't even know why I did it… I guess I felt so…" Neal stopped as he looked down at his still bandaged wrists and pushed the negative thoughts out of his mind.

Getting up from the couch Neal walked to the kitchen and made a beeline for the fridge; he was ravished, the combination of being spoiled on good food on the outside and refusal to eat had taken its toll. Going through the fridge Neal found deli meats and two different cheeses along with lettuce and fresh tomatoes. He then found some bread and made himself a sandwich with enough meat and cheese to make ten smaller sandwiches. He then made his way back to the couch with the loaded sandwich he found the remote buried in the cushions. After searching the movie channels Neal gave up and turned the television off. Sitting in silence Neal picked at his sandwich and nibbled at the bits of cheese and meat until he had eaten the equivalent of four sandwiches, not even full yet Neal sighed and tried to eat more but he wasn't feeling up to even looking at food.

Grabbing his plate he brought it to the kitchen and wrapped it up for later before putting it in the fridge. Trying to find something to do Neal wandered around the first floor of the house before moving to the second floor and as he climbed the stairs Neal looked at the pictures still on the wall. When he got to the top of the stairs he went into the guest room and changed into a pair of sweat pants and a tee shirt. He left his shoes off he went back downstairs and looked for a book to read. As he started to read the first few pages Neal heard someone putting a key in the lock. When he heard the door open he looked up from the page and dropped the book on the floor in shock.

* * *

><p>Peter walked into the living room and looked at the floor "I wasn't expecting you here until later today… I just came for a few more things," Peter said as he walked toward the stairs. Neal stood up slowly and made his way toward Peter. "I'm sorry… I ruined your marriage," Neal apologized as he kept a good three foot buffer between himself and Peter. The agent could see the regret on the younger man's face. "It's not your fault Neal, I'm the one that's to blame…I caused you to harm yourself," he said looking down at Neal's wrists. Neal began to feel self conscious, "I'll get out of your way so you can get what you came for," Neal said as he moved away and walked out onto the back deck and curled up in a chair.<p>

Going upstairs Peter grabbed a few more of his things and put them in a bag, on his way back downstairs he looked at the pictures; stopping at one picture Peter sighed as he looked at a particular black and white photo, the picture was of him and Neal that Elizabeth had taken at Thanksgiving of them lying under the tree in the maze and looking deep into each other's eyes. Taking the picture off the wall Peter walked back downstairs and out onto the porch where Neal was sitting alone looking out at the yard. Peter held the picture out to Neal.

Taking the picture from Peter, Neal looked at it before putting it face down on the table. "I take it that you are trying to apologize to me, well I don't want it…because I know none of it is true, you made it perfectly clear at the docks and then at the prison that. I was fool to even think what we had was real so could please just go and leave me alone…" Neal requested as he shifted in the wooden chair so he was facing away from Peter. "Alright I've got everything I needed, I hope you start to feel like your old self soon Neal," Peter remarked as he left Neal alone. Neal waited until he was sure he was alone before he picked the picture back up and looked at it and putting his head against the picture frame glass he sighed and tried to keep from crying.

_I want it to be real… but I know it's not; I'll never be loved…_ Neal thought as he slowly sat up when he felt a couple heavy raindrops hit his head. Getting up slowly from the chair Neal dragged himself inside. Looking around Neal found Peter sitting on the couch drinking a beer. "I thought you left. Is there a reason you're still here?" he asked as he made his way over to the chair and sat himself down. "I decided that you shouldn't be left alone right now, after you know… I hope you can deal with that for now," Peter said as he put his beer down on the coffee table. Neal looked at the beer for a couple minutes before curling up again. "You know I've apologized, maybe it's time you did too…" Peter remarked.

Neal's head shot up. "Me apologize for what? What did I say that was so horrible all I did was lie to you and I did it to protect you from being in trouble I admit that using your name to get my anklet off was wrong but I never said anything to you that was hurtful? Peter I grew up learning to lie about everything, okay so maybe that was wrong to do but what you did was worse… I never told you I didn't want to be with you or your friend, and then you tell me you were just in a relationship to control me…Colin was right, I'm just a work release con you never really cared about me…if I had known that before it got serious then I would have prayed Jack had better aim," Neal said as he looked away from Peter.

Peter felt like he had been kicked in the stomach when he heard what Neal said. Just as Peter was about to responded there was knock on the door. Neal got up and walked to the door and opened it. "Hello, can help you? Neal asked as he hid the bandages on his wrists against his body. "Right you probably don't recognize me I'm Kyle Grant I'm the mail guy at the FBI building, Agent Hughes asked me to drop off some papers for you to sign, it seems Mrs. Burke forgot them when she left… and since I was heading this way I offered to drop them off," he said with a smile. Neal stepped back and let Kyle into the house. "I recognize you now, but I usually see you by the mail cart so I guess it didn't really click in my mind at first," Neal said in an apologetic tone, Kyle smiled at Neal. "It's okay, I sometimes don't recognize myself without that cart," he laughed as he walked into the living room. "Oh Agent Burke, hello sir I'm not staying long," Kyle said as he started to reach into his messenger bag.

"It's okay I was just about to go," Peter said as he grabbed his bag and looked back at Neal before he left. Kyle looked at Neal as he walked over to the table where Satchmo was sitting and as he got closer the usually loveable dog started to growl. Neal walked over and grabbed Satchmo by the collar and dragged him to the back door. "Sorry I don't know what got into him; usually he's really very sweet. I'll just put him out back," Neal said as he pushed Satchmo out the back door. Kyle sat down at the table, "I heard about your 'accident' from some of the agents at the office and I wanted to say that I actually had another reason for coming. I know right now you feel lost and I wanted to offer some advice, I've been down the same road as you… two years ago I took a razorblade to my wrists after almost twelve years of abuse from my stepfather and mother, I survived… barely and when I got out of the hospital I moved in with my father and a next door neighbor told me about a group that meets at a church four blocks from my father's place, and they really helped me through a lot," Kyle said as he looked at Neal.

Looking across the table Neal could see the semi faded scars on Kyle's wrists. "So you came here to tell me what exactly?" Neal asked as he moved his hands out of sight. "I came here to invite you to a meeting, now I know you have a curfew but I'm going back to the office so I can talk to Agent Hughes about this… I know it seems strange the idea of talking to people but it really helps get through this period of feeling like everyone is judging you and watching your every move. Here is my cell phone number if you need someone to talk to about anything," Kyle said as he handed the number over.

Neal took the number and looked at it for a moment before looking back up. "I'll hold onto this in case I need to talk, and I'll seriously think about the offer," Neal said as he put the phone number next to his cell phone on the table. "Well I should go; I hope to see you back at the office soon it's not the same without you around," Kyle remarked as he pulled the packet of papers out and handed them over to Neal before he got up to leave. "Again I'm sorry for how Satchmo acted; I don't know what got into him today," Neal apologized as he walked Kyle to the door. "Like I said I'm cool with it, you don't have to worry about it, well I'll see you soon Neal. Hey you like coffee right, how about after a meeting we go out for some I know a great place right next to the church," he said as he opened the door and walked down the steps and down the sidewalk before Neal could turn his offer down.

* * *

><p>Two nights later Neal found himself sitting beside Kyle in a stark white room in the basement of a church, he sat quietly as a young woman talked about why she had turned to suicide. After an hour everyone had spoken except for Neal. When everyone turned to look at him he became nervous, an older priest that was sitting across from smiled. "You're among friends Neal, you can tell us as much as you want or as little, we're not here to judge you. Anything you tell us here is just between us," the priest said as he tried make it easier for the ex con to talk. Taking in a deep breath Neal looked at everyone once more as he tried to sort through everything in his mind. Just as he was about to make a run for it Neal felt a hand on his shoulder and looking to his left he saw Kyle give him a warm smile. "If you're not ready you don't have to talk yet, we're not here to pressure but maybe you'll be ready to talk by next week," the priest said before dismissing the others. Neal got up and collected his coat before walking out with Kyle.<p>

"You did better than I expected for a first timer, so I owe you some coffee don't I?" Kyle asked with a smirk as they walked up the basement stairs and into the large church. Neal gave a weak smile as they left the church and walked to the coffee shop. When they got inside Neal was hit with a wall of different coffee smells. Walking up to the counter Neal looks at all the selections on the board before ordering his drink. Once they had their drinks Neal and Kyle found a small corner booth. Neal sipped his coffee and looked across the table at Kyle. "Why are you being so nice to me, we barely know each other," Neal remarked as he put his cup down on the table.

Kyle smiled again as he watched Neal. "Well because you're a nice person and I know true pain when I see it. I wanted to help you because I know what you're going through and you need to know that you don't have to suffer alone. I also have to admit I was also kind of hoping to ask you out on a sort of date. Now I know that you have a curfew so how about a kinda cheesy take-out on the office roof for lunch after you come back," Kyle remarked smiling when he saw how shocked Neal looked. "As the mail boy I tend to overhear conversations that people would like to keep secret; they tend to forget I'm around, so I overheard a couple conversations between Agent Barrigan and Jones as they were in the elevator and don't worry I'm not going to tell everyone," he added as he drank more of his coffee.

Neal lightly blushed at the offer of the date. "That sounds really nice, but would you be okay with taking it slow… I'm still getting over a really bad breakup," Neal said softly as he looked down at his coffee. "I totally understand we'll take it as slow as you want, in fact we won't even call it a date; how about lunch on the roof between two new friends," Kyle said as he finished off his coffee. "That's sound like a plan," Neal said as he finished his coffee. "Come on I'll drive you back home now," Kyle said as he walked out of the coffee shop with Neal and walked back to his car. Holding the door open for Neal he walked around the car and got in behind the wheel.

As they drove back to the Burke's Neal looked down at his wrists for a moment and sighed. In the back of his mind he wrestled with his choices before turning to the other man. "That sort of date that we have planned for tomorrow, could we move it up to tonight and just skip eating?" Neal asked as he decided that he and Peter were over and that he needed to move on.

Kyle almost drove into a parked car as he pulled up to the Burke's house. He parked his car in the open spot just a few spots away from the house, looking across the car Kyle looked at Neal's face. "You sure?" he asked looking at the other man. Neal nodded "I need to move on and forget about my last relationship," Neal said as his mind instantly thought of Peter and everything they been through together and how Peter had been there for him through everything. "Are you really over your ex?" Kyle asked as he tested the water with Neal. "If I wasn't over my ex would I do this?" Neal asked as leaned over and kissed Kyle.


	3. Convexed

(( here is chapter 2 and I hope you enjoy it and keep reviewing people or who knows something really bad might happen to one of your favorite characters . So much like tinkerbell and the clapping thing keep reviewing to keep everyone safe... thanks Peppe for betaing and my fans for reviewing))

**Chapter 2: Con-vexed **

When they pulled apart from their kiss Kyle got out of the car and walked around and opened the door for Neal. "Let me walk you to the door," he said as he walked down the sidewalk and up the stairs to the front door but just as he moved into kiss Neal again the front door opened revealing Nick and Dante. "Hey shrimp…" they both said with a smirk as they turned their eyes to Kyle and looked him up and down. Between their legs Satchmo started to growl at Kyle again only for him to be joined by Dimitri and Puka. Neal moved back away from Kyle and stepped toward the front door. As he began to move into the house the dogs backed away. "I'll see you at work tomorrow Kyle," Neal said as Nick grabbed him the arm and pulled him into Elizabeth's house and shut the door right in Kyle's face.

Neal pulled away from his brother and walked over to the couch and sat down, "Is there a reason you two were spying on me?" Neal asked as he put his feet up on the coffee table. "We weren't spying on you little brother we are here to see how your meeting went and when we saw that you were walking up the steps with Romeo there," Nick remarked as he dropped onto the couch beside Neal while Dante sat on the other side of Neal. "So we decided to screw with you a bit and stop him before he kissed you," Dante said as he finished Nick's train of thought. "Besides we're here for support," Nick remarked as he looked up when Elizabeth walked out of the kitchen with Peter. After looking at Peter for a moment Neal pulled his gaze away after a moment and looked at his brother. "What do you mean by support?" he asked.

Peter cleared his throat to get Neal's attention. "El and I have been talking the last couple days and we've made up. Now I know we are having a disagreement right now…" Peter said trying to word everything carefully. "Disagreement… you call what you said to me a disagreement, you two can move back in with each other but I am not staying… I can't stay in a house to be used by someone who never actually had feelings for me," Neal said as he got up and made his way to the front door. Running outside Neal headed for the park just on the edge of his one mile radius. When he got to the park he paced around in a small circle by one of the benches that over looked the pond, he knew as long as he stayed in his radius he could stay as long as he wanted. _ I can spend the night here then I'll go back to June's in the morning. _Neal thought as he dropped down hard on the ground under a large oak tree and looked at the dark sky.

"Kate…did you ever love me or did you lie to me too?" Neal whispered as he watched the plane lights high in the sky. As time passed Neal let his head fall back against the tree, there was something about the area that just made it more relaxing so he could forget about his problems. Drifting off into a light sleep Neal found himself beginning to dream about Peter. The moment the dreams started Neal opened his eyes and sighed. _I just can't get away from him _Neal thought as he closed his eyes and tried to think of something else but each time he forced his mind to think of one thing Peter kept coming back into the front of his thoughts. Sighing loudly Neal got to his feet and walked to the small pond and picked up a couple small stones and began to throw them into the water while he thought things over.

* * *

><p>Nick looked at his cousin sitting on the Burke's couch "I know you saw it, the dogs didn't like that guy and as soon as Neal got into the house they calmed down," Nick remarked as he looked at his dogs asleep by his feet. Dante looked at the three dogs and thought for a moment. "Your dogs don't like a lot of people but Satchmo is just a regular loveable dog so it must have been something to set him off too. I'll start to look into his background and his family… the usual stuff. If I run into anything suspicious I will call you as soon as possible although I'll leave handling your brother to you, I'm sure you can handle him better alone," Dante said as he stood up and grabbed his laptop bag before making his way to the door.<p>

"Coward..." Nick said with a smirk as he watched his cousin give a little salute before leaving. Walking to the back door Nick walked out and looked at Peter and Elizabeth. "Look Burke you're an ass and I don't exactly like you right now but I know my brother and he's not going to let this go very easy. Now we have two choices. We let him just burn out all his anger doing what he wants which usually means something wreckless but I think his suicide attempt was the most serious so whatever he does it will be tame compared to that…but it most likely will be illegal. When I left home I kept in touch secretly with his friend Gabe and he told me Neal stole a couple cars and then he ran away from home just a couple months after he turned sixteen. Neal's not going to run away he knows that he won't make it far," Nick said as he sat down and reached over and rubbed Puka's ears a bit.

Peter looked up from the beer in his hand. "Wait a minute Neal told me he ran away from home two years after you did and that he traveled around the country then came to New York," Peter said recounting what Neal told him at the cabin. Nick shook his head as he took the beer offered to him from Elizabeth. "No my kid brother took off when he was sixteen and if you think about it what age was he when you arrested him? He was twenty-six … so that's four years of you looking for him which leaves seven years unaccounted for," Nick said taking a swig of beer. Peter put his beer down on the table hard and grumbled about Neal lying to him again. "If you know everything then where was he for those seven years?" Peter asked looking at the elder Caffrey sibling. Nick smirked and took another swig of beer. "It's not my secret to tell, when he's ready Neal will tell you, just don't push it," he remarked as he put his beer down and got up.

"Come on let's go get my brother and knowing him he went to the nearest park… he likes to hide at parks," Nick said as he grabbed his dogs leashes and clipped them on and headed toward the door. "We can get a good walk in while we look for him and these two need the exercise, Cat's been complaining that I feed them too much," Nick said with a chuckle as he headed inside and watched as Peter got chewed out by Elizabeth to go as well with Satchmo. After a couple minutes Peter walked out of his house with Nick. "So if Neal wasn't in the country where did he go for those seven years?"Peter asked as he led Nick to the park.

* * *

><p>When they got father into the park the dogs pulled as hard as they could and brought their owners over to the pond's edge where Neal was sitting and looking at the water. Looking up from the pond Neal sighed. "I came here to be alone…Nick you know I don't want to talk to him, so go away Peter," Neal said as he stood up. Peter looked at the younger man and sighed as he stepped closer only to have Neal back away from. Nick moved over to Peter and took Satchmo's leash from the agent and backed away from his brother and the agent to give them some time alone. Walking around the bend Nick sat on the bench and waited.<p>

Peter walked forward. He watched as Neal took a step away for every step forward that he took. Using this to his advantage Peter herded Neal backwards until he was cornered against a large tree. Neal felt his heart pounding in his chest when he realized he had been cornered and looking around he tried his hardest to not look into Peter's eyes. In his heart Neal felt the same stirring feelings he got when Peter was close to him, but the little voice in the back of his mind kept reminding him just how badly he had been hurt before by Peter. As Peter leaned in closer Neal snapped out of his thoughts and put his hand up to stop Peter's lips from touching his. "You made it clear at the prison and now it's my turn, we are over Peter…and if I kiss you now then it's going to start this cycle again… then how long will it last, I can't go through that again," Neal said softly as he tried to ignore how close the other man was and that his hand was on Peter's chest.

After a moment Peter stepped back and gave his ex the space he wanted. Once he was free Neal slipped away from the tree and walked back around Peter. However spinning around Peter grabbed Neal by the arm and stopped him. "Can you at least tell me where you were for those seven years you lied to me about?" Peter asked as he held onto Neal's arm. "I take it Nick cleared up the truth a bit, and no I deserve to have a few secrets from you Peter," Neal said as he pulled his arm free and walked out of the park using another exit.

Pulling out his cell phone Neal dialed Kyle's number and waited for him to pick up. "Hey Kyle, I know this is going to sudden but could I come over, but only if you live within a one mile radius of Peter's place?" Neal asked as he walked down the sidewalk. Kyle put his wine down on the table. "Actually I just moved into a place across the park; I got tired of living with my dad. Do you want me to come get you?" Kyle asked as he started to look for his car keys. Neal looked around he knew that there were only two entrances to the park in his radius. "I just left the park so I'll just walk, which one is yours?" he asked as he looked at the row of houses.

"It's the brownstone looking one with the sold sign still taped on the window," Kyle said as he walked to the front door and opened it to let the light out. Neal looked down the street and saw the house. He walked down the sidewalk and crossed the street before jogging up the front steps and hung up his phone with a smile. "Thanks for letting me come over, I was worried that if I left myself to my own devices I would be a danger to myself," Neal remarked as he was led inside. Kyle closed and locked the front door as he followed Neal into his new place. "I was just unpacking when you called, I finally finished moving in all my boxes yesterday and I just really started taking things out of boxes.

Neal looked around at the boxes that filled the living room with each box labeled and stacked with others that went to the same room. "So can I be of any help at all?" Neal asked as he tried to figure Kyle's logic on decorating his house. "Well I am unpacking the kitchen right now so you can help in there if you like and I just cracked open a bottle of wine that my dad gave me when I told him I was moving out. I have another glass somewhere around here," Kyle said as he began to dig through the boxes. Neal looked in one box and found the wine glasses and handed another glass over.

"I think you'll enjoy this, this is from my father's collection it's a two thousand and eight Alma Andina Malbec Reserva so enjoy," Kyle said as he poured a glass for Neal. Taking the glass Neal smiled and sipped the wine. "This is very good," Neal commented as he sat at the island counter and watched Kyle unpack a box of mugs and bowls. "You know you're welcome to stay the night if you like," Kyle offered as he started to put the bowls away in the cabinet by the sink. Neal looked at the dark inky-black wine in his glass. "That is a nice offer and I would love to stay the night. Do you have an extra room?" Neal asked as he put his glass on the counter. "We're grown men Neal we can share a bed, that is if you don't mind," Kyle remarked as he opened the box of pots and pans. "Nothing has to happen between us tonight," Kyle remarked as he gave up unpacking and grabbed his wine and led Neal through the house and up to the master bedroom.

Looking at the room Neal noticed that the bed frame was lying in the corner still and the mattress was on the floor. "How very grunge rock," Neal remarked as he walked over to the mattress and sat down on the edge. "Thank you, I was too tired to put the frame together today besides its fun to sleep on the floor every once in a while," Kyle said as he took a seat beside Neal and put his empty wine glass on the floor before falling back and sighed; Finishing his glass Neal put it down and dropped back beside Kyle. Looking up at the ceiling Neal lost himself in his thoughts "This reminds me of a place I stayed in with my girlfriend Kate when we were first together. It was a crappy place, after the job we both worked at was gone our boss had taken off with all the money, we moved right away in case the police were looking for us and we moved to an apartment that looked like this room, the first night there we drank cheap wine and dreamt about our future together," Neal said softly as he thought as he let a small yawn.

Kyle sat up and smiled as he grabbed the wine glasses. "Why don't you turn in I'll go wash these and lock up downstairs," he said as he got up and left the room. Neal pulled himself over the comforter to the top of the bed before stripping his shirt and sweatpants off leaving just his boxers on. After getting under the blanket he put his head down on the pillow. Once he was sure the house was locked up Kyle made sure the thermostat was turned down before he went to bed. As walked into the bedroom Kyle watched Neal trying to fall asleep, "Maybe if you tell me what's bothering you it will help you sleep," Kyle offered as he stripped to his boxers and got into bed. "It's not really bothering me it's just old memories that I hadn't thought of in a real long time is all," Neal said softly as he started to finally drift off.

* * *

><p>Waking up to the buzzing of his phone Neal groaned and felt around on the nightstand for his phone looking at the screen he realized he had a text from Peter. After his eyes adjusted to the light from the small screen he sighed before dropping back into his pillow. As soon as his head was down he felt an arm snake around his waist and pull him close. "Don't get comfortable Peter wants me to get to work in twenty minutes," Neal grumbled as he tried to get free. Kyle groaned and finally let go before rolling onto his back. It had been well over three weeks since Neal had semi moved in with him and it seemed every chance he got Peter pulled him into the office as early as possible. "It's not even six yet, what can be so damn important that he has to call you into work this early? Does he know we have plans or should I say had plans for tonight," Kyle said as he started to get out of bed and throw on his usual work attire. Neal walked to the closet and looked around for a moment before coming out in a dark suit and white dress shirt and a dark blue tie. Grabbing his favorite hat he smirked and pocketed his phone.<p>

Leaving the house together they got into Kyle's car and made their way to the office; after making it through traffic they got passed security and rode the elevator to Neal's floor. "I'm going to come get you at lunch time so be ready on time," Kyle said as they got out of the elevator and walked through the glass doors. Neal stopped short by his desk when he spotted someone sitting in his chair. "And what do I owe the pleasure of this visit, I don't recall doing anything in the last few days that requires a visit from you," Neal remarked with a smirk.

Sara smiled "I came for the painting you stole, do you want to give it up or do I have to keep coming here until you finally slip up and I find out where you hid it?" she asked with a seductive smirk. Turning on all his charm Neal leaned over his desk and smiled his most charming seductive smile. "You can show up here a million times and you can wear short skirts and smile at me as much as you want but my answer will always be the same," Neal said as he leaned farther over his desk and took his hat off. "You'll never be able to prove I took it, but I do enjoy the effort" he whispered in her ear in the most seductive voice he could muster that early in the morning. Standing up in a huff Sara dropped the file she was looking at and left the office.

Kyle cleared his throat and looked at Neal. "Care to explain why you were flirting right in front of me?" he asked crossing his arms over his chest. Neal smiled, "I wasn't flirting per se and I have no interest in that woman. In fact, she has been after me ever since a very expensive painting went missing," Neal explained as he walked around his desk and sat down. Kyle sat on the edge of the desk and looked at Neal. "Well did you actually take it?" he asked with a smirk. "That's beside the point, right now she can't prove whether I did or didn't take it and it really upsets her, so I find it amusing to egg her on," Neal said as he twirled his hat in his hands.

"One of these days she's going to catch on and then you're going to end up back in your prison cell," Kyle joked with a small smile as he picked up a small paperweight and looked it over. Neal stood up and took the paperweight back and placed it back on his desk. "Aren't you going to be late for your rounds?" Neal asked causing Kyle to jump up and run out the glass doors and barely avoided running headlong into Peter. As he headed into the office Peter looked at Neal. "You two beat me here finally; I had a feeling if I called you before I left and told you to get in early you would be on time for once," Peter remarked. Neal resisted the urge to act childish and stick his tongue out at the agent as he got to work that morning. Neal looked up when his brother and cousin walked in bickering and before Neal could escape they cornered him at his desk "Neal, help settle an argument…Catherine is beyond furious with me today and I can't figure out why and Dante thinks I forgot an important date and I think she's just in one of her moods, so which one of us is right?" Nick asked looking at his younger brother. "Seriously… Nick last night was your ten month anniversary since you two started dating, I worry about you sometimes in your advanced age," Neal remarked with a smile. "Cute… keep it up I still have baby pictures of you that you would never want the world to see," Nick warned as he walked away with Dante.

* * *

><p>As the cousins walked away Dante glanced back at Neal before speaking. "I finally finished digging around into Kyle's background and its clean and I mean way too clean, there are big parts of his past that seem fabricated. We both know fabricated pasts well enough to know when someone has tweaked these records. I mean these had to be professionally done because I can't find a trace of any other records than these," Dante said as he pulled out a small packet of papers. "Did you look into his family, siblings, parents, cousins?" Nick asked as he scanned the papers. "Oh why didn't I think of that," Dante remarked sarcastically.<p>

"I tried that; his mother's name is Nina Grant, he kept her maiden name when she married when he was ten, no mention of a birth father anywhere. The mother is clean for our search other than that she has numerous child abuse claims brought against her along with her now ex husband. Kyle went to live in foster care until he turned eighteen and he popped off their maps and became an adult, he joined the marines, sniper squads… he's actually got very high marks, and he could give you a run for your money. When he finished his enlistment he didn't sign up for another tour. He bounced around the world a bit traveling before landing a job here as our mail boy…" Dante recalled from memory.

Nick sighed and dropped into his seat and put his feet up on his desk. "As much as I dislike that bastard he's clean…and he does seem to make my brother happy, then again so did Burke. Speaking of Burke I talked to him the other night, he's not too thrilled about Neal dating Kyle. I can tell he still cares about Neal," Nick said as he looked over and watched his brother for a minute. _ Something just doesn't feel right, Neal moved into that guy's house, he been sleeping with him I assume and he's ignored Peter like the plague… _ Nick thought as he looked down at his paperwork.

The morning passed by quickly and quietly. Just ten minutes before Neal left for lunch he had been double finger called by Peter to the shelves and when he got there Peter was pulling binders off the shelves "Neal I need you to help bring these to my office before you go to lunch today," Peter said as he helped stack up the binders in Neal's arms until they were brushing against his hair. Neal bit back a groan from the weight, making it across the bullpen; it was easier than he thought especially with everyone out to early lunch. When he got to the stairs he made if up the first four which was harder than it sounded as he reached with his foot for the last step he fell backwards from the weight of the binders. Neal fell backwards and closed his eyes waiting for the weight of the binders to hit him. Once he felt that he wasn't falling anymore Neal opened his eyes to find Peter holding him bridal style the binders spilled all over the stairs.

"You really should be more careful… you could have really gotten hurt," Peter said just above a whisper. Neal blushed he was glad that no one else had seen him make such a mistake. "You can put me down now Peter I think I'm safe from the binders," Neal said softly as he resisted the urge to wrap his arms around Peter's neck and kiss him. "I don't want to but I will," Peter said as he slowly put Neal down on a clear spot of floor. Neither one of them notice Kyle walking into the room.

"Neal… we're going to be late for lunch come on," Kyle said as he walked over to Neal and put an arm around him and turned him away from Peter and began to lead him away. "Actually Kyle I'm going to help Peter clean up why don't you pick me something up to eat," Neal said with a smile as he walked over and helped Peter pick up the binders that had spilled on the stairs. "Yeah, I get you something special," Kyle called out as he left and went to the small deli a couple blocks away. Looking his selection over Kyle grabbed a couple egg salad sandwiches and paid for them before walking back to the office, heading up to his department's break room he made a beeline for the fridge and found the mayonnaise. Opening the jar and one of the sandwiches he put the extra mayo on before sealing the sandwich back up and throwing the way past expiration date jar away.

Making his way up to the twenty-first floor Kyle found Neal at his desk waiting for him. "Here you go babe, egg salad sandwich your favorite and I made sure they put on extra mayo for you," he said as he handed the sandwich over. Neal smiled as he unwrapped and started to eat the sandwich. "This is really good, next time maybe a little less mayonnaise but other than that you made a great choice," Neal said as he quickly finished his lunch. "I'll remember that for next time, I have to get going my lunch break ends in a minute," Kyle said as he got up from where he was sitting. "I'll see you later babe, try not to get into too much trouble today," Kyle said as he left the office.

* * *

><p>By mid day the office was abuzz with conversations and the sounds of work. Neal found concentrating on work difficult with his stomach tightening into knots every few seconds. <em>I just have to get to the bathroom without anyone noticing, I'd never live it down if someone knew I was sick at work… the great Neal Caffrey never gets sick, <em>Neal thought as he got up from his desk slowly to keep himself from getting too dizzy. Slipping through the glass doors he saw Diana in the hallway and moved around her ducked into the bathroom and into the first empty stall in time before his stomach turned traitor. He knew that he was loud enough to possibly be heard out in the hall but at the moment he didn't care.

"Neal, are you alright?" Diana called through the wooden door; she had seen Neal run by her looking pale, the only response she got was a loud retching. _ I guess I'll take that as a no _she thought as she looked at a group of agents by the elevator, when she saw Jones she waved him over. "I want you to stand here and don't let anyone in there," Diana said as she walked into the office and located Peter, after quickly explaining what she witnessed she led Peter to the bathroom door to listen for himself.

Peter entered the bathroom and closed the door behind him. "Whoever you are go away…" Neal started before his stomach heaved again. Wincing at the sound Peter stood by the door. "It's just me Neal, I told Diana to call Kyle, he's getting the car and pulling it up front and we're going to take you downstairs and meet him," Peter said as Neal pulled himself to his feet and flushed the toilet before leaving the stall looking clammy and white. Ignoring that he was being watch Neal walked to the closet sink and splashed cold water on his face. Peter helped Neal out of the bathroom and discreetly into the elevator. After a quick elevator ride Peter helped steady Neal as they met Kyle outside by his car.

Kyle gave Neal a weak smile as he helped him away from Peter and into the car. "Come on babe, you're going straight to bed and I'll stay up all night to take care of you," he said before he closed the car door and looked at Peter. "Thanks for getting him down here Burke…I'll make sure he gets a lot of rest and he doesn't push himself to go to work unless he's ready tomorrow," Kyle said as he walked back around his car and got in before driving off.

Peter stood there for a moment watching Kyle drive off. _ I don't trust that son of a bitch…_ he thought as he walked back into the building and went back up to his office. Walking over to Nick and Dante he looked at them. "What can you tell me about Kyle Grant?" he asked crossing his arms over his chest.


	4. Concaved

**Hey hey everyone here is chapter 3 now please review because i know u will with what i've done hahahaha loves and hugs **

**Chapter 3: Concaved **

Nick and Dante looked at each other before grabbing the paperwork they had collected and motioned for Peter to follow them to his office. Once the door was shut they waited a moment until Peter was ready. "We don't know a lot about Kyle, we're both pretty sure his past has been cleaned," Nick said as he leaned against the closed door. "You mean clean…" Peter said as he sat at his desk. "No, we mean cleaned… it's a term in our world that means someone's gone back into records and cleaning out the bad and has either exchanging it with false information or left it blank. Everything we've dug up on him indicates he has lived in the city his whole life, bounced around foster care after his mother and step father were accused of beating him, he joined the marines, he was a sniper, he didn't stay long got out after his initial tour," Dante said as he tossed the collected information on Peter's desk.

"That's where we hit a dead end we can't find any record of a biological father and without his name we're pretty much dead in the water," Nick said as he looked at Peter. "Why do you want to know all of this anyway?" he asked looking at the agent behind the desk. "Neal just went home sick, food poisoning most likely…I don't know just something doesn't add up about it is all," Peter remarked as he leaned back in his seat. "Before he got sick take us through everything you know," Nick said as he moved to the chair across from Peter's. "Before Neal left for lunch I asked him to carry some of the record binders in here and I may have gave him too many he fell on the stairs but I caught him and I was holding him when Kyle came in to get him for lunch, but Neal turned him down and said he was going to help me clean up. Then about four minutes later Kyle returned with two sandwiches from the deli a couple blocks away and they ate together at Neal's desk… that's all I know," Peter recounted as he looked at the cousins.

Dante rubbed his chin a bit in thought. "So we don't actually know if Kyle did anything, it could have been bad luck of the draw, Neal got a bad sandwich. That's why I bring my own lunch in or go to a place where it costs more than a couple dollars to eat," Dante remarked as he leaned against the door. "I'll drop by Neal's later and see how he's doing and if I have to I'll ask Kyle about the sandwich," Peter said as he looked at the notes again. Nick stood up and locked eyes with Peter. "Don't let on that you suspect him, we don't know just how dangerous he might be," he said as he grabbed Dante by the arm and pulled him out of the office leaving Peter to his own thoughts.

* * *

><p>Neal rushed upstairs the moment he got home; hanging onto the toilet for dear life. He ignored the fact that the bathroom door in the master bedroom was still open or that Kyle walked up to the doorway and leaned against the frame to watch Neal for a moment before he spoke. "Are you going to be alright while I run to the store to pick up some ginger ale and a few other things?" Kyle asked as he waited for Neal to answer. Neal lifted his head up a bit, "I'll be fine, just hurry back I'll-" Neal didn't get to finish his sentence before he retched again. "-be here…I don't plan on committing any felonies tonight," he finished as he took the cold washcloth held out to him.<p>

Kyle gave a weak smile, "I won't be gone long, I'm going down the street, I'll have my phone with me," he said as watched Neal for one more minute before leaving the bedroom and heading downstairs. Kyle left the house and walked to the market. _Burke is smart if I'm not careful he is going to keep pushing into our lives._ Kyle thought as he walked into the market. "Good afternoon Mrs. Ling, I need some help; Neal's got bad food poisoning do you have anything that can help?" Kyle asked as he leaned forward on the counter. "Poor thing, he my best customer, I give you something that is big ancient Chinese medical secret, when he feel sick have him suck on small piece," the older woman said as she walked over to the Asian side of her market and looked at the items lining the shelf. After a moment she returned with a medium sized bag of tan root looking items. "Candied ginger root, very powerful and very old medicine," Mrs. Ling said as she handed the bag over.

Once he had the bag Kyle walked over to the other side of the store and grabbed a couple bottles of ginger ale and some sports drinks and once he was done shopping he headed home. As soon as he arrived home Kyle put the soda and the sports drinks in the refrigerator. When he didn't hear any noises coming from upstairs he went to investigate, upon entering the master bedroom found Neal in bed sleeping. So he closed the door he went back downstairs, and made himself comfortable on the couch with a book. By dinner time Kyle wondered if should go upstairs and check on Neal, when he could get up from the couch he heard a knock at the door.

Grabbing the door handle Kyle pulled the door open and found himself face to face with Peter Burke. "Agent Burke…what are you doing here?" Kyle asked as he put his arm out to block the entranceway into his home. "I came to see how Neal's doing; he was pretty sick at work and I wanted to make sure that it wasn't anything serious," Peter said as he watched Kyle for a reaction. "He's upstairs in bed sleeping, so now that you know he's alright you can go now before I call the cops for trespassing," Kyle warned with a smirk as he locked eyes with Peter.

"I'm not the one that poisoned him with a tainted sandwich," Peter spat as he let his anger get the better of him. Kyle's smirk faltered slightly. "You would love to prove it, wouldn't you? So you can warn Neal that I'm a terrible person, well you burned that bridge when you hurt him in prison and he's not going to believe a word you say about me… face it I've won, Neal is and will always be mine," Kyle said before he shut the door in Peter's face.

* * *

><p>Just as he shut the door Kyle turned around and found Neal walking down the stairs. "Babe you should be in bed resting," Kyle said as he helped Neal down the stairs and over to their couch. "I heard you talking to someone and I couldn't sleep anymore," Neal said as he let himself be laid down. "Peter came by and I told him you were sleeping, he's got this half-cocked theory that it's my fault that you got sick… but maybe he's right…" Kyle said as he sat on the floor by the couch. "I'm sorry Neal, I asked the deli put more mayo on but they didn't and knowing that you like extra mayonnaise on your egg salad so I used the mayo in the mail departments break room and maybe it was bad… I didn't look at the label and now you're sick…it's my fault I'm so sorry," Kyle lied as he looked down at the floor.<p>

Neal put his arm over the couch and wrapped his arm around Kyle as best he could. "I don't blame you at all, you didn't know that it was bad… on Monday I'll clear it up with everyone at the office. But if it makes you feel better to hear me say it then I forgive you," Neal said as he rested his head against Kyle's. "You're too good to me, I don't know what I do without you," Kyle said as he leaned his head back and kissed Neal's neck. Smiling Kyle pulled Neal off the couch and into his arms.

"I have something for you, now close your eyes… don't peak," Kyle said as he leaned forward and checked that Neal's eyes were closed before he moved from here he was sitting and over to a chest he kept on the bottom shelf of the bookcase. Reaching inside chest he pulled a medium sized sky blue box out of the chest and moved back to where he left Neal. Placing the box in Neal's hands he put his arms back around Neal. "Okay you can open your eyes now," Kyle said as he held Neal close.

Opening his eyes Neal looked at the box in his hands. He immediately pulled the cover off the box and found a small square dark blue velvet box. Neal looked over at Kyle and swallowed hard as he took the smaller box out of the blue box and opened it. Inside was a silver band with blue inlay design. "So how about it, do you want to go to your home state this weekend and get a civil union?" Kyle asked as he held Neal close. Neal took the ring out of the box and slipped it on his finger for a perfect fit. "I can't wait…I just hope everyone is happy for us and won't give us too much trouble," Neal said as he snuggled more into Kyle's arms. "I'll make a couple calls and get it all cleared up so we can go," Kyle said as he placed a few kisses on Neal's neck.

* * *

><p>As Monday morning rolled around Neal woke up to an empty bed and throwing on his robe he went downstairs only to find a note on the banister. Opening the note Neal read it. "Had to go into work early today, I miss you already and will see you at lunch babe," Neal read with a smile. He then rushed upstairs where he showered and dressed in a fresh suit with his favorite hat. Afterwards he caught a cab to work and went up to the office where he got to his desk and noticed that his desk and the surrounding area were buried under a thousand red roses. Peter walked over to Neal and looked at the ex con as he looked at all the roses. "So what's with all the roses anyway? The delivery guys left like three minutes ago," Peter remarked as he watched Neal clear a space on his desk and a place for him to walk around the vases of roses.<p>

Neal smiled as he moved another vase. "Kyle and I got joined in a civil union over the weekend; he was really sweet about it when he asked and the ring isn't cheap either it's a real Tiffany," Neal said as he held his hand out to show Peter. "You said yes?" Peter asked a little forlorn that he really had lost to Kyle. Neal looked up with a smile, "I did," Neal said as he locked eyes with his ex. Peter looked at the ring before looking at Neal. "Are you really ready to commit to a person you've barely known less than a month?" Peter asked trying to test the waters with Neal. "You know I thought you would be happy that I found someone to be with…after we broke it off I need some stability you know, maybe this time the sex will keep me from breaking the law, now if you'll excuse me I have to get to work I have plans tonight for dinner and I can't be late," Neal said as he put another vase on the floor so he could see his computer screen.

"What kind of plans do you have tonight?" Peter asked trying to get more information out of the ex con. "I'm having dinner with Kyle and I'm meeting his father for the first time; he's been so busy overseas and in South America that this is the first time he's been able to get away," Neal said as he walked around his rose forest and made his way toward the lounge area. Peter followed behind Neal. "So where are you going for dinner anyway?" Peter asked as he poured himself some coffee. Neal shrugged as he got himself some water. "I'm not sure yet, Kyle hasn't said anything to me, all I know is it's going to be expensive," Neal remarked as he walked past Peter his arm brushing against him by accident. "Sorry, I'm going to start looking at the reports I missed last week when I got sick. I'll try and get as many done before six as possible," Neal promised as he walked back to his desk and disappeared behind his roses.

Nick walked into the office three minutes later with his cousin, both of them looked at the forest of roses and peered over the tops at Neal. "Hey shrimp where did you get all of these roses; they must have set you back a pretty penny?" Nick asked as he tried to look for a card hidden among the petals. Neal looked up. "I didn't get them Kyle did and this, we got joined over the weekend," Neal said as he showed his family his ring.

"Nil kak vy mogli delatʹ takie veshchi, vy yedva znaete yego, podozhdatʹ, poka mama i papa uznali ob etom," Nick said loudly as he pulled out his cell phone. Neal stood up and made a grab for his brother's phone. "Nik ya im skazhu, kogda ya gotov eto prosto sluchilosʹ daĭte mne pereryv," Neal responded in perfect Russian as he grabbed Nick's phone. Dante smirked as Diana walked over and pointed at the brothers. "Nick's yelling at Neal for getting hitched and not telling their parents, when they get mad at each other or they want to keep something private they speak in Russian since no one else in the family other than Catherine speaks it," Dante remarked as he smirked at the keep away game Neal was playing with his brother.

Diana looked at Dante "Wait if those two are the only ones in your family that know Russian how did you translate?" Diana asked looking at the liaison agent. Smirking Dante put his finger to his lips. "Don't tell them but I've known the language for years," he said as he walked over to his desk and started to look over his files. Chuckling he watched as Nick grabbed his phone back. Once the struggle was over Nick walked over a happy man as he pocketed his phone. "I'm going to talk to Burke," Nick said as he headed into Peter's office and closed the door behind him. "He went and got married to that bastard," Nick vented as he looked at Peter and saw the look on his face.

"Sorry, this must be tough on you… you know as well as I do that this honeymoon phase is going to end and Neal will realize just how much of an ass he is. Dad always used to say that you can't con a con unless you use his weakness against him. Kyle never said more than hello until after Neal was vulnerable from his suicide attempt. That's how he conned my brother and made himself look like the white knight in the darkness," Nick remarked as he sat down and looked at Peter.

* * *

><p>An hour before the work day ended Kyle walked into the bullpen. "Hey there good looking, I just got a call from my dad and his plane has landed and he is going to meet us at the restaurant in an hour, actually he's already there, apparently this restaurant has live entertainment; patrons can fence each other if they want. My father was wondering if you would accept the invitation to fence him before dinner tonight; he wants use the fencing as a test," Kyle said as he leaned against the wall by Neal's desk. "I do know how to fence very well, and I hope you don't hate me when I defeat your father," Neal said confidently as he leaned back in his chair and smirked. "You might think you're good but we'll just see; so do you think you can swing an early release from work?" Kyle asked with a smile.<p>

Neal smiled and got up from his seat, "I'll go see if I can get Peter to let me go early so we can celebrate. Now try and stay out of trouble alright…I'll be gone for a minute," Neal said as he walked through the bullpen and made his way to Peter's office. Kyle looked around and walked over to Nick's desk and smiled at him. "Hey there Nick, how's my new brother in law?" Kyle asked as he waited for Neal. "You can go fuck yourself on an iron fence you bastard," Nick hissed as he stood up and shoved past Kyle and walked out of the office with his cousin. A minute later Neal returned. "Peter said that we can go, I finished all my work and he said I don't have to come in 'til nine tomorrow," Neal said as he wrapped his arm around Kyle's and walked out of the office with him.

Peter sighed as he watched Neal walk out of office with his arm wrapped Kyle's. Peter sighed loudly as he reached into his bottom drawer and pulled out a hidden folder of photos of Neal from the photo shoot he had done while under cover. Flipping through the photos he stopped at his favorite of Neal looking directly into the camera with his hand pushing his bangs out of his eyes. After a minute of looking at the picture Peter sighed again before putting the photos back into his drawer and locking it as he put the key in his top drawer. _I should finish up the rest of the paperwork; I should hopefully be done before it gets too late tonight._ Peter thought as he opened up an old file and began to look it over.

* * *

><p>Neal smiled as he looked at Kyle in the car. "Are you sure he's going to like me?" Neal asked as he took in a deep breath. Kyle reached over with his right hand and took Neal's hand and raised it up and kissed it. "He's going to adore you, I've told him all about you and he says he can't wait to meet you. You have no reason to be nervous, I promise," Kyle said as he kept driving through the city traffic. Smiling Neal put his head against the headrest and let out a sigh of relief as he looked at his ring for a moment. "Well if he's anything like you then I'm sure I'll like him a lot," Neal remarked as he tore his eyes away from his ring.<p>

After a long drive Kyle pulled into the parking garage next to the restaurant. Once he parked Kyle turned in his seat and looked at Neal and smiled at him. "Don't worry he's going to love you, you're smart, witty, you're stylish and you put up with me so that's just a bonus," Kyle remarked as he played with Neal's bangs a bit. "I'm sure I'll do fine, it will be nice to be appreciated today," Neal said as he unbuckled his seat belt. "Let's go inside I'm sure my father is already here and challenging people," Kyle remarked. "Well then we should get in there then," Neal replied as he got out of the car and started to head for the stairs.

Kyle caught up to his husband and smiled as they walked down the stairs to the street level door and left the parking garage. "I apologize in advance for my father he might try to ask you about your lifestyle of being a con, since you're face was splashed all over the paper a couple times, well actually more than a few. Then there was your initial arrest, you're prison escape, your recapture, the time you jumped out of the judge's chamber, which was my personal favorite, and I think that was it… but back to the point he might just ask you about a few things is all," Kyle said as he held the restaurant door open for Neal.

"This place is amazing, I loved that it's a high class restaurant and yet at the same time they have live entertainment and it goes perfect with the feeling of the expensive taste of the restaurant," Neal remarked as Kyle led him past the lower tables and up a staircase and past a large glass box where a fencing was going on and finally into a private room where they left their coats. "You remember that fencer dressed in black in the box, is my father. He told me earlier that you should dress in an outfit and head down to the box to face off against him," Kyle informed as he handed Neal a white vest. As he dressed Neal took in a deep breath to calm his nerves. "You're going to do fine I promise you, even if you're nervous don't take a dive my father will that as a sign of weakness, so just do your best and try to win babe," Kyle assured as he gave Neal a small kiss before handing him his helmet.

Putting his helmet on Neal walked downstairs with Kyle and walked up the raised platform stairs and entered the box. Taking the sword offered to him he took a couple deep breaths as the official walked in. "A point for every hit, five points maximum, I don't want to see any elbow jabs or any other un-sportsman like conduct boy," the man said as he left the box and stood by the only window in the box. "Begin" the official said as Neal took the defense and blocked the first couple strikes. Once he saw an opening Neal made his move and went for it earning him the first point of the match. After that the fight became a game of swift fluid movements and quick wits. Moving around the box with careful steps Neal read each movement his opponent made.

Soon the every eye in the restaurant was watching one of the longest match ever against the champion; whispers of who was the new guy started to fill the restaurant as everyone tried to figure out who was as good at fencing as the reigning winner. Kyle smirked as he overheard a couple of the whispers about Neal and how great he was. After nearly an hour Kyle was amazed that his father was barely winning by one point, Neal fell back into the defense to keep last remaining point._ His father is really good I never expected this level of fencing perfection; he must have studied for years. _Neal thought as he dodged another attack. Backing up again Neal felt the glass wall behind him as he tried to come up with a plan to win when he felt the distinct poke of the sword signaling he lost.

Moving away from the wall Neal handed his sword over to the official and removed his helmet and vest. Brushing his slightly sweaty hair out of his eyes Neal smiled at the fact that he had lasted as long as he did in the ring with Kyle's father. "I was impressed sir you must have trained for years, to become that good," Neal praised as shook the other man's hand. Kyle walked over and smiled. "Come on babe, there are a couple more guys that want to fight dad, besides I'm sure you want to clean up a bit too.

Neal nodded as he let Kyle lead him out of the box and up the stairs to the private dining room. "So I did the best could and it looks like I boasted too much before hand," Neal said as he pushed his hair back out of his eyes again. "You did fine, I was surprised you lasted as long as you did with him and I could tell he wasn't going easy on you at all. You have a lot of skill Neal and I was very impressed and I'm sure he was as well," Kyle said as he held Neal's hand.

After a minute Neal excused himself to use the private bathroom to freshen up, when he came back out he saw Kyle talking to a man who had his back to Neal. Once Kyle spotted him he smiled. Neal crossed the room until he was only two feet away from the other man.

"Dad this is Neal," Kyle said as the man turned around and looked at Neal. Neal felt his eyes go wide as he stood rooted to the spot when he saw the face of the man standing in front of him. "Neal this is my father, Vincent Adler," Kyle said with a smile.


	5. Conceal

**(( Sorry for the belated chapter people I want to thank everyone for sticking around and I have a question that I would like answered, should I make a new series with the same characters (mostly neal's family Nick and dante and some of the the others? What do you all think?))  
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**Chapter 4: Conceal**

Neal stood frozen to the spot as he looked from Adler over to Kyle. _How did I miss it, they look so much alike they have the same jaw, the same eyes and the same broad shoulders, I should have seen it but I didn't… _Neal thought as he mentally berated himself for being conned so easily. "I think I need a drink," Neal said as he walked over to a waiter that had walked in. "Can I have a Long Island iced tea but leave out the syrup, the juice and the cola and double the alcohol and make it quick," Neal ordered as he tried to process in his mind how he missed the clues. Kyle walked over to Neal and put his hand on Neal's forearm. "Babe, are you okay? " Kyle asked. Neal looked at the other man and tried to keep himself calm.

"I'm fine; I guess I just had a really long day is all," Neal replied as he snatched the tall drink from the waiter and drank it down quickly and handed the glass back and ordered another. "Well don't drink too much too fast," Kyle said as he put his arm around Neal and led him over to the table. Vincent walked over and sat across from Neal. "Neal I've been curious, ever since Kyle told me you were arrested for stealing the necklace I was wondering how you managed to get such a reduced sentence. Did you turn on a family member and give them up?" Vincent asked. Neal looked across the table and shook his head. "No, my lawyer was able to cut a deal in return with a shorter jail sentence. The deal was I would return the real necklace to the owner and he wouldn't press charges which just left the removing my tracker, breaking and entering and vocally impersonating a federal agent," Neal said as he took his second drink from the waiter.

Kyle reached over and took the drink from Neal and put it out of his reach. "I really think you should be somewhat sober for this dinner babe; it would be rude if you had a little too much and made an ass of yourself," Kyle said as he picked up his menu and looked it over. Neal didn't bother to fight it and just ordered a glass of wine. "So you don't have the real necklace, well that is a disappointment," Vincent said as he looked at his son for a moment before looking away. "And I assume you can't steal it again or Burke will set his sights on you the second he finds out its missing," Vincent added as he looked at Neal.

Grabbing the wine in front of him Neal drained the glass before putting it on the table. Neal called the waiter over and ordered three more iced tea, after a minute the waiter returned and placed the drinks in front of Neal. As Kyle reached for the drinks Vincent held his hand up, "I think its okay son, and I think the shock of the family he's married into has gotten to him. He'll be fine after a few days, just let him deal with the shock in his own way. Neal downed the drinks quickly and after a minute he could feel his mind start to get very cloudy. Reaching over Neal grabbed the drink Kyle took from him and finished it in record time. "Yeah Kyle back off, if I had known he was your father I would have never married you," Neal slurred as the alcohol took over his mind. Pushing himself to his feet Neal stumbled away from the table. "I'm going to… something," Neal mumbled as he left the private room and made his way out of the restaurant. Walking to the corner Neal managed to hail a cab, "Take me to FBI at the federal plaza, "Neal mumbled as he put his head against the cool glass window.

* * *

><p>When the cab finally pulled up in front of the building Neal gave the driver a twenty before he stumbled out of the cab and into the building and over to the front desk where the guard was sitting "Hey Clarky barky…" Neal slurred as he began to laugh a bit. Rolling his eyes Mark grabbed the phone on the desk in front of him and dialed Peter's number from the directory. "Agent Burke this is Mark down at the front desk, Caffrey is down here and he's drunk and I mean very drunk; do you think you could come down here and take him off my hands before he breaks something or hurts himself?" Mark asked as he tried to keep an eye on Neal as he sat on the floor and talked to himself a bit.<p>

Peter hung up his phone and sighed, leaving his office he took the elevator to the lobby when he got there he found Mark rubbing his temples as he sat at his desk. "Where is he?" Peter asked as he walked around the counter and saw Neal trying to push himself off of the floor. "Come on Neal…up you go," he said as he helped Neal to his feet. "Hey Peter…did you know his name is Mark not Clark?" Neal slurred as he began to laugh. Peter put his arm around Neal's waist and helped him up and helped him to the elevator.

"Peter you're so strong I love how you can hold me up so easily," Neal as he put his head on Peter's shoulder. Peter smiled as the elevator chimed, "Neal what are you doing here I thought you were having dinner with Kyle and his father?" Peter asked as he maneuvered Neal through the dark bullpen and into the conference room. "Oh yeah… dinner, I got ine…ine…drunk and bailed on dinner; turns out I know my so called mystery father in law already," Neal slurred as he felt Peter drop him into a chair. Peter turned the wall lights on so he could see Neal better. "I see well wait here I'm going to call your brother maybe he knows how to deal with you like this," Peter commented as he pulled out his phone and left the room to call Nick.

Two rings later Nick picked up. "Hey Peter what's with the late night call?" Nick asked as he sat up on the couch. "Really, he came back to the office drunk, well I've only seen Neal really drunk about two or three times, no don't worry he doesn't get violent ever, last time I saw him get drunk he was just about to have a three way with a waiter and a waitress at our cousin's bachelor party. Oh and you might find this useful but when Neal gets like this he can be pretty chatty and he doesn't know when to lie so he'll pretty much tell you anything you want to know, well good luck with him," Nick said before hanging up.

Pocketing his phone Peter walked back into the conference room and found Neal sitting on the floor under the windows. "What are you doing over there Neal?" Peter asked as he walked up behind the younger man. "Just thinking about how stupid I am…that I didn't see how much they look alike," Neal mumbled as he looked over his shoulder at Peter and saw the bewildered look on Peter's face. "Peter weren't you listening before, Kyle and his father look alike and I'm kicking myself for not seeing it before," Neal slurred as he propped his head up on his hands and sighed. "I wish I knew that before I got hitched," he mumbled as he felt Peter sit down beside him. "Okay tell me what's so bad about your father in law… is he a cop?" Peter asked trying to get past the drunken haze in Neal's mind.

Laughing loudly Neal fell back against the floor with a hard thud before he answered. "I wish he was a cop… then this would be easy, no I had the great luck… or the worst look… er luck," Neal mumbled as he pushed himself back up and crawled over to Peter. "I'm incredi…dubly drunk, God I wish there was police car here," Neal mumbled his mind moving away from his main problem. Peter looked at the younger man and smirked. "Do I dare ask why you wish you had a cop car here?" Peter asked as he watched Neal straddle his lap and look at him. "Wasn't it obvious, the day we first met outside the bank…that was the day I knew that I had to have you some day, I even had to bite my tongue to keep from telling you I was the one you were looking for," Neal replied as he started to undo Peter's tie.

"Now why would you want to turn yourself in so soon?" Peter asked truly curious about where the story was going. "Because I wanted you to bend me over the hood of your car and after implying I might be armed, I would enjoy your vigorous pat down. That's been my favorite fantasy… how else do you think I made it through prison the first time around, visits from Kate and naughty thoughts about the FBI agent that put me there," Neal slurred as he revealed one of his fantasy secrets that he swore he would never speak of. Peter smirked he never knew Neal had a kinky side. "So what else would you think of, surely that one fantasy wasn't enough, you must have more?" Peter asked trying to read more of the book called Neal Caffrey.

Neal shook his head. "Nope that was the only one, I didn't think of making new fantasies when that one was doing so well for me," Neal said as he managed to get Peter's tie undone finally. As soon as the tie was gone Neal leaned in until his lips were barely touching Peter's. "How come you never fought for me when I started to go out with Kyle?" Neal asked in a moment of lucidity. Peter put his hands on Neal's hips and sat there for a moment before responding. "I didn't know that's what you wanted, you were happy again and I didn't want to ruin it so I stepped aside to let you be happy even if it hurt me," he replied as he moved one hand up and kissed Neal.

Sliding his arms around Peter's neck and pull him closer and deepened the kiss, soon Peter moved down from Neal's lips to the younger man's neck and began to suck on Neal's weak spot hard enough to bruise him. After a moment Neal pulled Peter away from his neck and began to kiss him again. When they ran out of air Neal pulled away and looked at Peter, his lips slightly swollen from the kiss. "I… I shouldn't have done that…"Neal said softly as he started to pull away. Peter put his arm around Neal and pulled him closer again. "Do what you feel is right Neal, I'm not going to tell you what to do or who to choose," Peter said as he slowly let his arm fall to let Neal make his choice.

* * *

><p>"Peter, to make my choice I need to know one thing, what you said to me in prison about the sex did you mean it or were you just mad at me for lying, I need to know before I make any choices; I don't want be hurt again," Neal said softly as he tried to keep from falling over. "I haven't stopped loving you, you might be impulsive and sometimes stupid but I still love you and I apologize for saying what I did at the prison I was just mad at you for risking your freedom for some information," Peter said with a smirk. It took Neal's drunken mind a moment to realize what Peter had said. "Hey I'm not stupid… I just make stupid choices, my biggest being that necklace I stole for my father in law," he said as he put his head against Peter's shoulder and sighed. "You told us that you stole that for Vincent Adler; Neal, are you saying that Adler is your father in law?" Peter asked in a shocked voice.<p>

Neal nodded as he leaned against Peter's shoulder and mumbled. "Did I forget to mention that?" he asked as he nuzzled closer to Peter for warmth. Peter pushed Neal away and looked him square in the eye. "Well you're not useful anymore, come on I'll take you home. El has the guest room always made up in case you want to stay over," Peter said as he tried to get Neal off of his lap. "No, take me to Kyle's place if I don't go home he'll think I went to the FBI and told on his father," Neal said as he put his arms around Peter's neck and held onto him. Peter sighed with defeat as he finally managed to push Neal off of his lap.

"Alright let's get you home," Peter said as he got to his feet and pulled Neal up to his feet. "Do you know what? I think I have a new fantasy of you Peter and of this office and a whole lot of rug burn," Neal said as he let Peter hold him up. Peter laughed a bit. "Maybe when you're sober you'll rethink this proposal," Peter said as he maneuvered Neal into his office so he could shut the computer down and the lights off. Once everything was shut down Peter led Neal out of the office and down to his car. After belted Neal into his seat he drove the younger man home.

By the time they got to Kyle's Neal opened the door and tried to get out before undoing his seatbelt. Peter rolled his eyes and got out of the car and helped Neal out and up the stairs to the front door but before Peter could look for Neal's house keys the front door opened to show Kyle standing there. "Babe, where the heck have you been?" Kyle asked as he un-wrapped Neal's arms from around Peter. "I was just wandering around, I'm sleepy…" Neal mumbled as he pulled away from Kyle and stumbled his way toward the stairs.

Kyle looked at Peter for a moment before slamming the door in Peter's face and following after Neal. "So where were you?" Kyle asked as he slipped his arm around Neal's waist and pulled him close. "I want to go to bed my head hurts," Neal mumbled as he tried to pull out of his husband's arms. "Not yet I want to know where you were and what Burke was doing bringing you home?" Kyle asked tightening his grip a bit around Neal's waist. Cringing slightly Neal attempted to pull away. "Are you jealous of Peter?" Neal asked with a drunken chuckle. "Of course I'm jealous of him; I saw the way you were looking at each other when he caught you after you fell down the stairs, and when you turned me down for lunch that day, who knows what you were doing with him," Kyle said as he finally let Neal go. "And what about tonight, you know I see the mark on your neck and I know that I didn't do it…"Kyle remarked as he stood before Neal.

"I have a headache I'm going to bed," Neal said as he made his way up the stairs to the second floor. After he kicked his shoes off Neal groaned as he stripped to his boxers and crawled into bed. "I'm not done being mad at you," Kyle said as he entered the bedroom and found Neal in bed. "Kyle would you leave me alone I'm drunk and tired, I'm going to have a major hangover in the morning so I need to sleep" Neal remarked as he put his phone on the nightstand before turning off the side table lamp. Kyle left the room and slammed the door behind him as hard as he could before stomping down the stairs to the first floor. Then making his way to the basement Kyle turned the lights on and walked into the workout room and grabbing a pair of gloves and began to punch the large punching bag in the corner to vent his anger.

Once he was sure that his anger was under control Kyle pulled his gloves off and made his way to bed. When he got to his room he opened the door and found Neal dead asleep to the world. After a quick shower Kyle climbed into bed and put his arm around Neal and pulled him close. Neal rolled over in his sleep and nuzzled against Kyle's chest. "Mm Peter…" he mumbled as he slid his around Kyle's waist. Freezing in place Kyle grabbed Neal's hair and pulled it hard enough to force him to sit up. Neal sat up and tried to pull free. "What's your problem I'm trying to sleep?" Neal asked as he kept trying to pull away only to have Kyle pull his hair harder. "You called me Peter when you curled up against me. So I thought I would correct the problem," Kyle said as he put his forehead against Neal's. "This is your only warning, talk about Burke like that again and it won't be pretty," Kyle warned as he let Neal go and lay back down before turning his back to Neal. Falling back against his pillow Neal rolled away from Kyle and slowly passed out.

* * *

><p>Kyle woke the next morning and sat up in bed to find Neal curled up under the blankets hiding from the sights and sounds of the world. "Neal get up you have to get ready for work soon," Kyle yelled as he got out of bed. Neal buried himself deeper under the pillows. "Please don't yell my head is killing me," Neal said his voice muffled under the blankets and pillows. "Oh I'm sorry… let me make it up to you," Kyle said in a false apologetic tone. Neal uncovered his head and looked at Kyle. "You can make it up to me by going away and letting me sleep, I have a terrible hangover and talking to you isn't making it any better," Neal said softly as he shielded his eyes from the light.<p>

"Oh you poor thing let me give you something else to concentrate on," Kyle said before he punched Neal in the ribs successfully fracturing a few of them. Neal rolled away to protect himself and letting out a small whimper Neal put his left hand on his right side as he struggled to sit up. "Now you're not thinking of your head, get dressed I'm driving you to work in three minutes, oh and before I forget if you tell anyone about today then think about how much more pain you could be in," Kyle remarked as he patted Neal lightly on the cheek before giving Neal a small kiss.

Neal pulled away and got out of bed as fast as he could go into the closet; he looked at his side and saw the large bruise forming on his chest and when he was done examining his injury he put on his favorite suit and hat on. Once he was dressed Neal walked out into the bedroom and grabbed his phone and put it in his pocket. "I'm sorry I had to hit you babe but now you need to know that you're not allowed to talk back to me like you did last night or this morning," Kyle said as he stretched his arms over his head. "It's finally good to stop with that stupid act; now that you know who my father is I don't have to pretend. Don't get me wrong I do love you babe but I'm not a very nice person all the time," he added as he followed Neal downstairs and out the front door.

Getting into the car Neal kept quiet although he wanted to speak but he was afraid of what he might blurt out so they sat in silence Neal debated with his inner self on if he should tell Peter what had happened or not. _If I tell Peter he'll go through the FBI to help me and Kyle will find out since he has friends and connections all over the FBI not to mention he hears all the gossip… but if I tell Nick he won't hesitate to put a bullet in Kyle no matter what… Dante is pretty much the same, Jones is a good guy but I won't get him involved and Diana is no better than my brother and Peter combined._ Neal thought as he avoided moving too much.

Arriving to work on time Neal realized that he would have to tread lightly around Kyle as if he were a poisonous snake. _I just have to play along for now and be careful of where I step._ He thought as he got out of the car with great difficulty. Kyle put his arm carefully around Neal and walked into the building leading the ex con through the lobby and over to the elevators. "Today I'll get off on my floor first; I'll be late if I don't," Kyle remarked as he pushed his floor then Neal's. Riding up in silence Neal looked at his reflection in the elevator doors and he knew he looked horrible. He was still hung over but Kyle had been right the pain in his ribs were overriding his throbbing head. When the elevator chimed on Kyle's floor he winced at the noise. Kyle slipped away from Neal and exited the elevator car and gave him a small smirk before the doors closed.

When he got to his floor Neal got out and walked to his desk making sure he didn't jar himself too much as he sat down. As soon as he felt the back of the chair against his back he looked up and saw Peter double pointing to him to come up to his office. Getting up slowly Neal walked up to Peter's office and smiled at him. "Morning Peter, you wouldn't happen to have anything for a hangover?" Neal asked as he rubbed his head. "Bit too much to drink last night?" Peter asked with a smirk. "Yeah I guess I did drink too much, I only remember a few things from last night. I remember coming here and sitting on the floor talking to you and the making out…" Neal said his cheeks turning a bit red.

"So you don't remember telling me about your cop car fantasy?" Peter asked as he watched Neal's face turn even darker red. "I… I told you that…" Neal sputtered as he continued to blush at the mental images of his fantasy. "I also know that Vincent Adler is your father-in-law. Now I haven't said anything to anyone yet but Neal this is serious; he is wanted by the FBI and he can't be left to roam free," Peter said as he watched Neal as he leaned to his left as he sat down. "Neal what's wrong, are you hurt?" Peter asked as he started to get up from where he was sitting and walked around his desk and looked at the younger man. "I just slept wrong on my arm is all it will be fine later, so what have we got to work on today?"Neal asked trying to change the subject.

Peter looked Neal over once more. "Fine, just don't start lying to me Neal… I won't take you lying to me again," Peter said as he turned away. Neal threw his arm out and grabbed Peter by the sleeve and kept him from walking away. Peter turned back and right away he saw the fear and pain in Neal's eyes. "Neal what's wrong; you know you can tell anything and you know it," Peter said softly. Neal sat there as still as a statue for a moment before speaking. "Peter you have to swear that if I tell you, that you keep it between us," Neal said as he tried to buy some time to think of a lie. "I slipped in the shower and bruised my side, I don't want anyone to know about it; it's kind of embarrassing," Neal lied hoping it was believable enough.

Looking Neal over Peter walked to his door and shut it, leaning against the door he looked at his partner. "I promise I won't tell everyone you slipped in the shower… because that's not what happened. You wouldn't look that scared unless there is something to be terrified of. Wait here for a moment," Peter said as he left his office and walked over to where Diana was berating Nick and Dante for their poor paperwork again. "Hey Diana, guys… could you three take everyone out of here for like ten minutes tell them something… I'll fill you in later… and get your mind out of the gutter you two," Peter said turning to the two smirking cousins.

Once everyone was gone Peter walked back to his office to find Neal had removed his jacket and was now struggling to get out of the chair and after some help Neal moved so he was hidden by the wooden door. "This is what you can't tell anyone about," he said as he fought the pain to get his tie undone and his shirt unbuttoned. When he was free Neal let his tie hang around his neck as he dropped his shirt to the floor in a crescent heap. Peter looked at Neal's side in shock.

* * *

><p>Reaching out softly Peter traced the edges of the large purple and black bruise that had swelled up and was as wide as a football. Neal winced and looked at Peter. "Did Kyle do this to you Neal?" Peter asked as he gingerly touched the center of the bruise. Neal nodded, "I was complaining about my hangover and he said he could make my head hurt less, and he did…" Neal said as he closed his eyes and enjoyed Peter's soft touch. After he was done Peter helped Neal put his shirt and tie back on.<p>

Neal looked at Peter and put his hand against Peter's cheek. "I miss you so much... Peter can I stay at your place tonight I don't want to go home with him tonight," Neal said softly as he let Peter put his arms carefully around him and hold him. "Of course you can, I would have insisted it…" Peter said as he kept Neal close. "You have nothing to worry about Neal I'll protect you," Peter promised as he finally let Neal go. "I'm going to go back to my desk; I still have some reports to do," Neal said as he opened the office door.

Walking down the stairs Neal felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Pulling it out with his left hand he looked at the screen he sighed before pasting on a fake smile before answering. "Hey Kyle, oh really lunch with your father today… sounds fun, don't worry I won't be drinking this time, Alright… that sounds like a plan, I'll be ready… bye," Neal said before hanging up and going to his desk. Scribbling a small note Neal shoved it into folder that held the report he was working on. After sitting down Neal looked at the file and smirked. "The butler always does it," he mumbled as he wrote down a couple notes on a post it and stuck it to the file and put it in the folder and stuck his note on top.

Putting the folder aside Neal pulled out his drawing pad and began to sketch despite the pain in his side. Five minutes later the other agents in the department returned and looked at Neal as they walked by. Nick and Dante walked over to Neal's desk and looked at him, "So what did you two talk about?" Nick asked as he saw his brother look away. "Nothing much, it's not really important," Neal replied as he got back to his drawing. Nick looked at his brother and shrugged. When he turned around he saw Peter motioning for him to come up to his office with his cousin. Giving Dante a quick elbow to the ribs they walked up to Peter's office and looked at the agent.

"I'm about to tell you something very serious… but first I need you to promise you're not going to freak out and go off on some family revenge. You also have to swear you won't tell Neal that you know. He just showed me a bruise on his ribs the size of a note book…he told me Kyle did it to help him forget about his hangover from the night before," Peter said. Nick felt his anger rising, "I'm going to kill him, Neal is my responsibility and he got hurt," Nick growled. Dante grabbed Nick by the arm as he tried to leave the office. "Nick… stop, murder is illegal and Cat will skin you alive for going to jail you know that, I think if you give Peter a chance he has more to tell us," Dante offered as he tried to keep his cousin from shooting up the mail room.

Peter let out a breath of air, "I want you two to come over tonight, Neal is staying over and we're going to sit him down and talk to him about ideas to get out of his marriage and get those two in jail, for the rest of their natural lives," Peter said as he looked at the cousins. "Nick…I think you should bring your dogs too for extra protection," Peter added. Dante looked at his cousin. "He's right they didn't like Kyle when they met him so they'll be perfect guard dogs for tonight," he said as he crossed his arms over chest. "I'll leave work early and go pick them up for you," Dante offered as he held his hand out for Nick's keys. "Nice try, I'll pick up my dogs and bring them over with you, that way I don't have to bring my car. No offense Burke but parking by your place is tough," Nick remarked as he looked out the glass wall at his brother. "We should get back to work before he gets suspicious of us," Nick remarked before leaving the office with his cousin.

* * *

><p>Kyle looked around the mail department break room, he hated his job but he knew it was the only way to keep his father informed on changing information in his case. <em>I haven't heard anything yet… which means one of two things either Neal didn't say anything to Burke yet or he squealed like a pig and Burke is keeping a lid on it until he can get permission from higher ups to make his move.<em> Kyle thought as he finished off his soda and threw the can away in the trash. Heading off to do his rounds, going up to the twenty-first floor he started to hand the mail out and when he was done he stopped at Neal's desk. "Hey there, we're going to have lunch at a little bistro around the corner so you know," he informed Neal and smirked at him. "So you better be good today, or you will regret it. You were an embarrassment to me last night, now let's go… you're taking an early lunch," Kyle said as he kept his voice down.

Neal looked at his husband and nodded his head. "I know, I was just shocked…I'll just be a moment; I need get these Peter he needs them for a case we're working on," Neal said as he slowly got up and walked up to Peter's office and handed him the files. "I'm going to take an early lunch…make sure to look at my notes on the top case," Neal said as he implied something important. Leaving the office Neal followed Kyle until they were out of the building. When they got to the restaurant Kyle unlocked the front door with a spare key. "Dad just bought this place, so we're going to be the only ones eating here today," Kyle said as he led Neal through the restaurant and out to the back of the restaurant that was missing the roof. Neal looked around he like the quaintness of the homey feel with the open air of being a secret tucked beside the other buildings. "If you want this place can be yours we'll sign the deed over to you… you can sell cakes from that bakery you own," Kyle remarked with a smirk.


	6. Condescend

**Happy 4th of July to my American Fans, and happy normal day to everyone else... thanks to my fans for reading and reviewing, keep reviewing please or Satchmo will get shaved in the next chapter ~Hugs BBB  
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**Chapter 5: Condescend**

Neal looked around the small dining area. "It's very nice here and peaceful, I would love it," Neal said as he sat down at the large table in the center of the patio area. Kyle smirked and sat down across from Neal and looked at him. "I wanted to apologize for hitting you with this morning babe," Kyle said pulling an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to Neal. Taking the envelope carefully Neal opened it up and felt his mouth open a bit in shock. "These are opera tickets for La Bohéme this weekend… Kyle these are insanely expensive tickets, you didn't have to get these for me," Neal said as he tried to remember that Kyle was a bad guy and that he needed to go to jail. "I want to apologize and when I said I'm not always a nice person… that's to other people but I don't want to be that way toward you babe," Kyle said as he smiled at Neal.

Looking at the tickets Neal looked up and smiled. "You're forgiven… I shouldn't have complained at all, I gave myself the hangover last night," Neal said as he put the tickets back in the envelope and put the envelope into his coat pocket. "I also want to apologize to your father; do you know when he'll get here?" Neal asked. Vincent walked in a moment later. "My apologizes I had to go and settle a few things and I also brought this," Adler said as he pulled the deed to the restaurant out and put it before Neal. "My gift to you, I hope you enjoy it Neal, now all you have to do is sign right here then we can have lunch," Adler said as he handed the deed and a pen to Neal.

Making sure he didn't jar his ribs too badly Neal took the pen and signed the document before sliding the deed back over; Neal looked at Adler. "So was this the reason you wanted to see me last night to give me a restaurant?" Neal asked as he sat back a bit in his seat. "No, there is more, I wanted to talk to you and see how you've been these last few years but now no more shop talk until after we've had lunch," Adler said as he snapped his fingers and three waiters came out with lunch. Neal looked at the plate of stuffed mushrooms next to the roasted eggplant and sautéed chicken breast. "This looks like an amazing lunch, looks like I'll be calling Peter and telling him I'll be late getting back because I want to enjoy this," Neal said with a smile.

Vincent sat back a bit and picked up his wine glass and held it out for it to be filled by one of the waiters. "Neal how do you like working for the FBI? It must be strange to be working with the same people that chased you around for so long?" Adler asked truly interested in what Neal had to say. Neal smirked, "I won't lie; it is very difficult, but seeing how they operate shows me just how they think so when my anklet comes off in a couple years I know how they will look for me the instant I do any job, but the upside is I never have to see any of them ever again… and to think they've bought my "I want to change my ways" act, especially Burke he was the easiest to manipulate. He really thinks that I want to be a good little boy and look for the white picket fence life," Neal said as he passed on the wine and looked at Kyle.

"Besides I won't have to be stuck in this city I can go anywhere, steal anything I want…it will be good to get back to my roots," Neal said as he started to eat. Kyle looked at his father and smirked. "I think we can trust him I think he's learned his place in our family and this just proves it, I knew you weren't cheating on me with Burke," Kyle remarked as he popped a stuffed mushroom into his mouth. "Of course not… I'm just being a good actor, it wasn't that hard to make him think I ever wanted a relationship with him… and now I have him wrapped around my finger, how else you think I was able to steal the necklace. He never suspected a thing he was so blind with false love," Neal said with a smile.

Vincent smirked, "I think I trained you too well Neal, you are just an amazing con artist… you managed to fool an entire FBI division in thinking you're on their side. I am very impressed with you, and now that I know that I can trust you with this information. I have a job that you would be perfect for you and the payout will set you up for life, now I can't go into too much detail yet but all you need to know is that the artwork is one of the world's greatest lost treasures," Vincent remarked as he put his glass down and got up from the table. "You two stay; I have to go now. You know how it is Neal being a wanted man you can never stay in one place too long or you could be caught, I'll be in contact Kyle," Vincent said as he left. Kyle turned his attention to Neal and smiled.

Kyle looked across the table and smiled. "You are amazing I was even fooled. I really thought you were really serious about being with Burke; I never should have thought that. Maybe you can swing him to extend your radius to the entire island of Manhattan and maybe just keep you from the boats, trains and small airports… it's not fair just keeping you locked within two miles with nothing really to do on your days off," Kyle remarked. Neal gave the idea a thought. "I can probably swing an extra mile but not the whole city. The FBI doesn't trust me enough at least not yet, give me a week I might be able to swing four miles," Neal said with a smirk.

* * *

><p>Peter looked at the files Neal had finished before going to lunch and especially at the note the Neal left in the case file. Folding the note in half and slipped it into his pocket before he got up from his desk walked out to the bullpen and over to Nick and Dante's desks. "I'm going for a coffee run, if Neal gets back from lunch before I get back tell him to wait in my office for me," Peter said before he left the office. As he got into the elevator he stuck his hand his pocket and felt the note as he looked at his reflection in the mirrored door as the elevator moved.<p>

When he got out Peter made his way through the lobby and out into the sunlight. Making his way to his and Neal's favorite coffee shop he thought about the note again._ What is Neal up to…whenever he gets something in his head he goes through with it and he gets himself into trouble that way._ Peter questioned as he crossed the street and walked into the small shop. _I have to ask him about this note after his lunch break today or even tonight _Peter thought.

Once he had his coffee Peter walked back to the office but when he got upstairs Neal still hadn't returned, even though his lunch break was over. Letting out a sigh Peter walked back to his desk and got back to work but noticed after two hours Neal hadn't returned he started to get worried. "What is taking him so long does it take to get back to work?" Peter asked himself as he waited to talk to his partner. Then twenty minutes later Neal walked in with his good arm around Kyle. "Oh before I forget Peter asked me over tonight…I'll work on him tonight about my radius and I'll call you in case I decided to stay over," Neal said as he smirked. Kyle nodded and smiled back. "You be good tonight and work your magic to get him wrapped around your finger," Kyle said as he kept his voice down. Neal laughed as he slowly pulled away, "I'll miss you tonight," Neal said with a pouting smile before Kyle walked out the double glass door and into one of the elevators.

As soon as he was alone Neal shuddered as he walked up to Peter's office and as he shut the door he saw Peter looking at him. "God I feel like I need a shower," Neal said as he rubbed his arms to emphasis his feelings. "Care to explain your note of 'They Will Pay'?" Peter asked as he motioned for Neal to take a seat. Moving to the open chair Neal sat down and looked at Peter. "What it means is I know that Adler has a plan. Why else would he want to see me so bad so I'm playing double agent… or double con really, I told them I'm just using the FBI to learn how to avoid getting caught in the future, I also may have told them that I'm just using you as well and that I've got you wrapped around my finger," Neal said as he looked down a bit.

"Neal that is the most reckless plan I've ever heard of, but if we plan out each step then nothing bad can happen to you and I will speak to Hughes about getting you some more leg room around the city during daylight hours and maybe an extra mile at night," Peter said as he got up from his seat and stood beside Neal's seat. "You need to be careful Neal, if they find out you're lying to them they could kill you," he remarked as he put a hand on Neal's shoulder. "We'll talk about this more tonight after dinner," Peter added as he walked out of his office to talk to his boss about bringing down one of the most wanted criminals in FBI history. Neal got up from his seat and walked back to his desk to finish his work.

By end of the work day Neal found himself eager to go stay at Peter's for the night. Peter walked up to Neal's desk and motioned for the younger man to follow him. Hopped up on pain pills for his side Neal quickly followed Peter into the elevator and pressed the button for Kyle's floor. "I've got to say goodnight to him before I go," Neal said as they traveled down seventeen floors. As soon as they arrived on the third floor the doors to reveal Kyle waiting for the elevator. Walking into the elevator Kyle put his arm around Neal and held onto him as they rode down to the lobby.

Peter walked off to his car and after they got in they drove off. "Neal you have to promise me you're not going to do anything that will put you in danger, if something happens to you I will never forgive myself," Peter said as he got into his car and looked at Neal. "Peter, you shouldn't worry I've been pulling cons for years and I know what to do to get them caught by one of the smartest FBI agents I know, you're almost as smart," Neal said with a witty smirk. "Very funny, you better watch that smart mouth or it's going to get you into serious trouble," Peter said as he drove home. Messing with the radio Neal looked at the traffic as they waited at a light. "Why don't you watch it for me tonight…" he implied with a raised eyebrow.

Once they arrived at the Burke's Neal got out of the car and leaned against it as he waited for Peter to get out of the car. "Neal… I think we should document the bruise on your ribs…" Peter said as he opened the door. Neal nodded as he walked into the living room and was nearly tackled by his brother's dogs. "Hey boys… what are you doing here?" Neal asked as he pet the dogs before they got down and walked back over to where Nick and Dante were waiting at the dinner table. "You're late; we've started dinner without you two," Nick said as he continued to eat. Elizabeth walked out of the kitchen with a plate of food for Neal. "Peter can we talk in the kitchen for a moment," Elizabeth requested as he handed Neal a heaping plate of food.

"So want to tell me why the Hardy Boys are sitting in the dining room eating all our food?" Elizabeth asked as she pointed toward the three younger men at her table. "I should have called; it's best if you don't know too much since it's a sensitive mission. I'll fill you in when I can," Peter apologized as he kissed his wife's cheek. "I'm just glad I made enough food before they showed up, and sooner or later I want to be filled in before this goes on too long, I don't want my favorite boys getting hurt," she said with a smile. Peter nodded as he followed Elizabeth into the dining room. "Well I'll leave you four to play dress up I'm going to work on some invoices for my clients, just try and stay out of trouble," Elizabeth remarked with a smile as she picked up her laptop bag and made her way upstairs with Satchmo.

* * *

><p>Neal looked at Peter and put his fork down. "I would like to know why they are here…I thought you said you were keeping it to yourself?" Neal asked feeling slightly betrayed. Peter sat down "I told them because I didn't want them finding out by the rumor mill and then gunning you husband down in cold blood at the office," he said as he got up and grabbed a beer from the fridge. "You mean soon to be ex, as soon as he's in jail with his father I'm giving him the papers," Neal said as he put his fork down. "That's what we like to hear little brother," Nick said as he looked at his kid brother. "So how do you plan on making them pay?" Dante asked as he sat back.<p>

"I don't know yet, I know that Adler is up to something… what you two didn't know that, I assumed Peter would have told you since he told you about the abuse, Adler is my father in law," Neal said as he picked up his empty plate and brought it into the kitchen. Peter sighed. "I think we should talk about this, we need to come up with a plan when they finally come to Neal to help with whatever illegal thing they have planned for him to do," Peter said as he took another swig of his beer. Neal looked down at his hands and he saw the ring on his hand. "Today at lunch Kyle gave me a restaurant and two front row tickets to an opera, if I didn't know he was a total jerk then I would think he was the sweetest guy ever. Look I know I shouldn't fall for the nice guy act but I have to act like I do… and Peter you have to act like I've got you wrapped around my finger, which means you have to give me a city wide range," Neal said as he looked at Peter.

Peter smirked. "Well you have me pretty well wrapped that's no lie, I will try and get you a larger radius but you really have to be well behaved because if you break that trust it will mean jail time again with the possibility that you will never get out again. This plan has to work Neal and we're going to watch your back at all times," Peter said as he picked his beer back up. "No you're not… if they catch wind that the FBI knows about their plans then it could put me in more danger," Neal replied. Nick looked at his brother and got up from the table, "Neal let's go talk for a minute outside," Nick said as he walked out the back door with his brother hot on his tail.

When they were alone Nick looked at his little brother and leaned against the wall. "You'll never guess who called me this morning," Nick said as he pushed his hair back over his ear. Neal shrugged his shoulders "I don't know, mom or dad? Would you just tell me I really don't want to guess right now, so who is it I'm never going to guess?" Neal asked as he sat down on one of the wooden lounge chairs. Nick huffed and crossed his arms over his chest." Oh you're really no fun, fine this morning I got a call from Kame and he wants you to call him," Nick said as he handed a folded sheet of paper with a phone number on it. Neal looked at the number on the paper before putting it into his pocket. "I'll call him in a while, he probably just woke up so I'll wait," Neal said as he headed back to the door. "When do you think I should tell Peter?" Neal asked as he looked over his shoulder at his brother.

"Keep it a secret for now, it could be a nice surprise for him later…but enough about Kame and the others… this con with Kyle and his father, I know what you're going to try and do and it's risky but I trust you little brother just don't get hurt again, I don't know how many of your nine lives you got left," Nick said as he clapped his brother on the shoulder before heading back inside with him. Neal looked across the room to where Peter was sitting on the couch arguing with Dante about the game on the television. Walking over to the couch he sat down and ignored the pain in his ribs as he curled up close to Peter. "Aw you two look so cute together; Dante and I are going to take a walk around the block," Nick said as he grabbed the leashes for his dogs. Peter cleared his throat forcing Dante and Nick to freeze. "Leave all the weapons that you have on your person," Peter said as he watched both men sigh.

Nick opened his jacket and pulled out a nine millimeter Beretta ninety-two out of his shoulder holster, putting the gun on the table he started to walk back toward the door. "Not yet I said all the weapons," Peter said as he kept a protective arm around Neal. Nick sighed and reached under his leather jacket and pulled a Glock out of the small of his back, once he put it on the table he crouched down and pulled a small knife at his left ankle and a thirty-eight Smith and Wesson out of his right ankle holster. Putting his last two weapons on the coffee table he stuck his hand into his jacket pocket and pulled out a butterfly knife. "I swear that's everything I have," Nick said as he started to leash up his dogs.

Dante laughed as a he pulled a forty-four magnum desert eagle out from his gun holster and put it on the table along with his Beretta ninety-two and a small dagger. "What is with you two carrying that much firepower?" Peter said as he kept Neal close and rubbed his back since he knew how nervous guns made Neal. Nick rubbed the back of his head, "I'm going to walk my dogs now, and we're both empty handed now," Nick said as he pulled his two Dobermans toward the door with his cousin behind him.

* * *

><p>Once Nick and Dante were gone Neal let out a loud sigh and looked at the weapons on the table and buried his face against Peter's shoulder so he didn't have to look at the weapons. Peter pulled away and moved the weapons into the kitchen before walking back to the couch where Neal was waiting. "We should use this time wisely, before they come back and try to ruin our fun," Neal said as he grabbed Peter by the arm and pulled him down until he was over him. "What about the bruise?" Peter asked as he tried to ignore Neal's hand sliding up his arm. "I know you'll be careful Peter," Neal said softly as he pulled Peter closer and slowly began to kiss him. As Peter began to return the kiss he heard Neal's phone began to ring. Neal groaned as he pulled away.<p>

"That's Kyle's ringtone, I should answer… it" Neal said as he tried to pull his phone out of his pocket, as he managed to free it he found himself pinned under Peter. Hitting the answer button he held the phone against his ear. "Hey Kyle, I'm in the middle of something at the moment, I'm trying to get my radius expanded, Peter's really riding me about how stupid I am for wanting to request that," Neal said his voice filled with the sounds of a smirk. Kyle took in a deep breath as he sat on his couch. "Neal come home I've decided that I don't like your plan, I want you home in two minutes I have another surprise for you," Kyle said as he hung up and tossed his phone aside.

Neal hung up his phone and dropped it on the coffee table and put his head down on the couch pillow. "So what did he want?" Peter asked as he sat up. "He wants me home in two minutes but I don't feel like going home to him just yet, I want to spend more time with you," Neal said before yanking Peter down into another kiss. _ I have no idea how Kyle will take it if I don't come home on time but it doesn't matter the minute he's in jail I'm serving him with papers to get away from him._ Neal thought as he felt Peter pull away. "Neal…he nearly broke your ribs for a hangover this morning… what do you think he'll do to you for getting home late?" Peter asked as he looked into Neal's blue eyes. Sighing Neal sat up, "I know…you're right I should go now, if I hurry I can be home in time," Neal said as he managed to slip out from under Peter.

Peter grabbed Neal's phone and handed over to him. "You be careful and call me or text me if you need my help," he said as he pulled Neal onto his lap and kissed him again and slid his hand down Neal's back. "I thought you said I should get going… but if you keep that up… I'll be late getting home," Neal said trying to keep a clear head as he moved away from Peter. "I'll send you a text when I get home," he promised as Peter walked him to the door and kissed him goodnight.

As soon as the front door clicked shut Neal jogged down the front steps, as soon as he hit the sidewalk he bolted as fast as he could as he ran up the steps and pulled his keys out. Putting his house key in the lock Neal tried to open the door as quietly as possible. Slipping into the house Neal kicked his shoes off at the door. As soon as he cleared the foyer Neal turned the handle on the inner door and closed his eyes and held his breath as he opened it silently. "You're late I told you to be home in two minutes, and it's been four minutes since I called so where the hell have you been? I was worried about you," Kyle said as he walked over to Neal and put his arm around him. "Peter wanted to try and drill it into my head that my radius is my leash and that I have to listen to him, he didn't seem to want to let me get home to you. I've had a long day I think I'm going to turn in soon," Neal said hoping he had gotten off clean.

"Before you go to bed I want to give you something… maybe this will help you remember not to be late when I tell you to come home on time," Kyle said throwing a swift right hook right into Neal's left cheek. Stumbling back Neal hit the wall and slid down it, reaching up he touched his cheek and winced. Right away Neal knew his cheek bone was broken. "You set an impossible time to get home, of course I wouldn't be able to make it on time," Neal said as he got up and walked up the stairs. "Where are you going now?" Kyle asked as he grabbed Neal by the arm. "I'm going upstairs to pack a bag so I can go stay with my brother," Neal said as pulled away.

Kyle slammed the inner door hard enough to break two of the glass panes before locking the door before and following Neal upstairs. "I am not letting you walk out this room," Kyle said as he walked into the room and grabbed Neal by the back of his neck and threw him onto the bed. Neal pushed himself up and glared at the other man. "No amount of money is going to fix this," he said as he grabbed what he could and stuffed it into the bag; then leaving the room with only a few clothes packed Neal left the room and headed down the hall to the stairs. "I'll be back in a couple days to get the rest of my things," Neal said as he slung the bag over his arm. "I didn't say you could leave," Kyle yelled as he grabbed the lamp off the table and threw it at Neal and hit the wall instead.

Neal waved off the attack and laughed. "You didn't say I had to stay either," Neal retorted as he started down the stairs. Kyle growled in anger and moved behind Neal grabbing him by the hair and yanked him back. "I said get back here," Kyle yelled as Neal struggled to get free. "Let me go!" Neal yelled as he reached back and scratched Kyle's hand, which caused Kyle's anger to boil over as he pushed Neal down the stairs with all his strength.

Hitting each stair hard Neal prayed he would pass out soon from the pain and then as he hit the floor at the bottom of the stairs hard Neal cried out when his already bruised ribs hit his elbow. Kyle stood at the top of the stairs looking down on Neal. "Look what I had to do…I didn't want to do that babe, now get up and clean the broken glass down there before cleaning up the lamp up here," Kyle ordered as he walked downstairs and stepped over Neal as he went into the kitchen and grabbing a beer. Neal bit his lip as he pushed himself up from the floor and sat up. "Your true colors are showing again Kyle, my brother was right about you…and just because you pushed me down a flight of stairs isn't going to stop me from leaving," Neal said as he grabbed onto the banister and pulled himself off the floor but as soon as he put his weight on his left foot he winced.

Just as Neal managed to take his first careful step away from the stairs the doorbell rang. Kyle walked out of the kitchen and put his beer down. When he saw the state Neal was in he went through the foyer and opened the front door. "Oh officers… I was just about to call for help; my husband took a nasty fall down the stairs and he needs medical attention, I think he sprained his ankle," Kyle said as he walked the police officers into his home. Neal shifted his weight to his good leg as the officers came inside. The older officer looked Neal over before motioning for Neal to take a seat on the small bench by the door. "Your neighbor called when she heard arguing coming from your home this evening, now following procedure we're going to speak to the both of you separately," the older officer said as he looked at Kyle. "Officer, are you implying that just because we're of a different sexual orientation that we can't have verbal arguments like a straight couple?" Neal asked as he stood back up. The officer looked at Neal before speaking. "Of course not sir… but you are injured and when someone calls in a domestic abuse call we have to speak to each party separately," he said trying to keep things calm. Neal looked at Kyle and gave a small smile.

"Kyle never hit me; let me clear this up right now, first I'm taking a kick boxing class and I'm not very good at it as you can see, and second I did fall down the stairs when I was coming down to lock the back door, Kyle keeps forgetting and that's what we were arguing about before he says we don't need to and I told him we live in a city and leaving doors unlocked is just asking for trouble," Neal lied as he tried to ignore the fact that his ankle was starting to swell under his anklet. Noticing Neal's discomfort Kyle walked over arm around Neal. "I think this is enough, now if you won't mind I'm going to take him to the hospital to get checked out," he said acting as if he cared. The officers looked at each other before the younger one pulled out his radio and called for an ambulance. Neal slipped his cell phone out of his pocket and sent a hidden text to Peter. When he was done he slipped his phone back into his pocket.

When the ambulance arrived Neal allowed himself to be helped down the front steps and into the back of the emergency vehicle. After he lay back against the pillow Neal watched Kyle climb in and sit beside him. "I told you not to run down those stairs; see what happens when you don't listen babe," Kyle said as he put his hand over Neal's and stroked it as the ambulance left their home and traveled to the hospital.

* * *

><p>Peter turned the kitchen light off and was getting ready to go upstairs when Dante and Nick returned from their walk. "You know I was about to go to bed," Peter said as he let the cousins into his living room. "Is Neal asleep upstairs?" Nick asked as he followed Peter into the kitchen and began to pick up his weapons. "Neal went home about seven minutes ago, Kyle wanted him back and it sounded serious…" Peter said as he pulled out his cell phone as it began to ring. "This is Burke…all right, yes I will check it out," Peter said before hanging up. "You two come with me, Neal just left his radius and went to a hospital nearby," Peter informed as he tried to keep up with Nick and Dante as they raced out of the house.<p>

When they got to the hospital Nick was ready to pull out his gun and start shooting. After flashing his badge Peter found Neal's location and condition. Peter led the group to where Neal was in the emergency room. With all three agents pulling out their badges and showing them to the nurse by the curtain she looked at the credentials before letting them through. When they pulled back the curtain they found themselves looking at Neal as he sat alone. Nick looked around. "Where the hell is he, I'm going to put a bullet in his head," Nick said as he started to look for any signs of Kyle. "What are you three doing here?" Neal asked as he made sure his swollen ankle didn't fall off the pillow that it was propped up on.

"Here's a better question, what are you doing here?" Peter asked when he looked at Neal's black eye even as his consultant tried to cover his bruised cheek with his hand. Neal sat up more and moved his leg from the pillow. "I fell down the stairs at home, so Kyle brought me to the hospital… he just went to get me something to drink," Neal said as he tried to put weight on his injured leg. Peter walked over and sat Neal back down on the bed and put his leg back on the pillow just as Kyle walked back around the curtain. Nick and Dante turned around their guns drawn. "You take a step closer to Neal and I will drop you and no jury would convict me," Nick said as he kept his gun pointed at Kyle's head. Before anyone could make a move the curtain began to move as Neal's doctor came back.

Dante moved his gun quickly behind Kyle and shoved it against his back hard while the doctor spoke to Neal. Nick made sure his gun wasn't cocked as he slid it back into his belt. "You must be Neal's handler Agent Burke… and you two are?" Peter looked at the other two men. "This is Neal's brother and cousin," Peter said as he tried to ignore the fact that Dante still had his gun out. "Well then I guess we should talk in private…Mr. Grant could you give us a moment," the doctor asked as he motioned for Kyle to leave. "No… anything you can say to them you can say to me, I'm Neal's husband and I demand you tell me what you're going to tell them," Kyle said as he took a step away from Dante and his gun.

Getting tired of his cousin-in-law Dante pistol whipped Kyle with his gun and knocked him out. "God I can't stand that asshole," Dante remarked as he put his gun away. Not being sidetracked the doctor looked at the three agents acting as if nothing had just happened.

"Right, what I was going to say is that Neal needs to spend the night and be monitored for any internal bleeding or brain swelling; according to the records we had emailed over from Brooklyn Hospital Center it seems Neal was in a coma once before for almost three weeks. We want to keep an eye on him to make sure he won't slip into another one; also we were forced to cut his anklet off due to the swelling in his ankle from the severe fracture in both his ankle and his foot. He'll need to have it put in a cast tomorrow morning before he can check out," the doctor said finally looking down at Kyle on the floor.

Dante smirked at the doctor's reaction. "Don't worry he's not dead… I mean I don't think he is…" Dante remarked before giving Kyle a small kick and seeing him react to it. "See still alive," Dante said as he grabbed Kyle and hoisted him up and walked out of the area with Nick to dump Kyle in the waiting room to let him suffer for a while. Neal looked at Peter as he stood by his bed. "Peter I don't want to stay overnight…especially alone," Neal said his hand still covering his broken cheek that had already swollen to a dark purple black hue. Peter looked at Neal's doctor, "I need to stay with him, if I don't you'll have trouble locating him in an hour," he said as he sat on the edge of the bed. Looking at Neal the doctor nodded "He'll be moved to a private room soon, now may I speak with you for a second Agent Burke?" the younger man asked as he held the curtain open.

Peter looked at Neal for a moment "Stay and don't move a muscle Neal if you do I will tell Elizabeth where you are," Peter warned as he walked out of the area with the doctor. Neal sighed and fell back against the pillow and crossed his arms over his chest. Pulling his phone out of his pocket and dialed his old friend, after a couple rings the other end picked up. "Kon'nichiwa" a tired voice on the other end of the line said. "Kame wa, sore wa wareware wa watashi ga zan'nen watashi wa yobidashite inai yo hanashite kara nagai jikan o sa rete iru, Nikku wa anata ga hanashi o shitai to itte ita. Watashi wa kon byōin ni yo... Watashi wa kaidan o ochite, yoku jissai ni watashi no otto wa watashi o pusshu," Neal remarked as he looked at the curtain to make sure no one was listening in on his conversation.

"Your Japanese is good still… I started Engulish lessons three years ago…" Kame said with a very heavy accent. Neal smiled "Well you're doing very well; I remember we needed Nick to translate for us before I learned the language," Neal said with a small laugh, lying on his bed he looked at the tiles in the ceiling. "So what did you want to talk about?" Neal asked as he reached up and touched his cheek once more. "I called because we are going to be coming to America in a few months and it would be nice to get together," Kame said as he dragged himself out of bed and started to get ready for the day.

Neal thought about his friend and looked at the clock on the wall. "It's almost nine here meaning you're going to be late for work, so tell the others I can't wait to see them, I'll call you when you're not going to work, later Kame," Neal said before hanging up. Slipping his phone back into his pocket Neal moved his foot off of the pillow and began to put it against the floor and lightly put his weight on it. "Neal lay back down right now," Peter called from the other side of the curtain; Neal stuck his tongue out and got back into bed and huffed loudly. Peter looked at the doctor and shook his hand when they were done talking. Opening the curtain he looked at Neal. "Where were you planning on going?" Peter asked with a smirk.

* * *

><p>The con huffed "I was trying to get something to drink, the pain killers they gave me made my mouth dry," Neal said as he pushed himself up so he wasn't lying down. Peter sat on the edge of the bed and looked at Neal. "I'll get you a drink as soon as you tell me what happened tonight," Peter said as he took Neal's hand in his and looked at the ring on his finger. Looking down Neal sighed," I was late coming home, so Kyle gave me this black eye and when I decided to go upstairs and pack to leave to stay with Nick, Kyle didn't take that very well so we fought and then he shoved me down the stairs. He's abusive Peter…you and the others were right about him," Neal said softly.<p>

Peter looked down "I don't like the fact that I was right, but promise me that when your rested tomorrow you're going to call the best divorce lawyer in the city and get away from him," Peter said hoping that Neal would take his advice. "I promise I will call a whole team of lawyers but not until they are behind bars, If I call now Adler disappears into the wind and no one gets their hands on him, I know what I'm doing Peter, if you trust me then listen to me right now," Neal said as he wrapped his hands around Peter's and held it tightly. "A fractured ankle, a broken cheek and some bruises isn't going to stop me from pulling the biggest con of my life and I can't do that if I divorce him," Neal said as he pulled his hands away

Kyle groaned as he regained consciousness in the waiting room, pushing himself up from where he was laying on the plastic chairs. He left the waiting room and walked back to Neal's bed. As he pulled the curtain back he saw Neal talking quietly with Peter. Clearing his throat Kyle walked over and sat beside Neal's injured leg. "Hey babe… you know it's getting late, why don't we head home before they make us wait here in ER all night," Kyle said as he got up and grabbed Neal's coat and threw it over his arm. "Kyle I have to stay overnight I'm getting a cast in the morning," Neal said as he looked at Kyle. "Burke… why don't you get lost for a minute, Neal and I need to talk," Kyle said as he watched Peter slowly leave. "Good let's go, once we're out of here we're going to stay with my father," Kyle said as he helped Neal up and keep his weight off his fractured ankle. Moving quickly through a side door Kyle helped Neal toward a waiting town car.

Once they were in the car Neal looked at his husband. "I guess I should apologize for Dante and for the way I spoke to you earlier," Neal apologized as he leaned against Kyle and put his head on his shoulder, though he felt like he wanted to burn himself alive. When they arrived at the town house Neal let himself be taken inside.


	7. Conflicted

**(( here is the long awaited chapter 6 I hope everyone enjoys and reviews or chapter 7 won't get done in time, so please review, and thanks again Peppe for betaing and all my fans for reading and sticking with the story this long))  
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**Chapter 6: Conflicted **

Neal looked around and memorized the layout of the townhouse as he was brought up to the third floor. "Welcome to your new home babe," Kyle said as he helped Neal into bed and helped him prop up his ankle. "Kyle we need to go back to the hospital… The pain killers they gave me will wear off in couple hours not to mention Peter and my family will start to look for me," Neal said as he tried to ignore the feeling of the soft mattress with the goose down comforter making him feel tired in combination with the pain killers. Kyle smirked and kissed Neal's forehead. "Try and get some rest, we'll call a doctor to make a house call when you wake up," Kyle said as he ruffled Neal's hair a bit before leaving the room and locking the door behind him.

Fighting to stay awake, Neal grabbed his phone from his pocket as he tried to dial the phone his head fell against the pillow and the phone slipped out of his hand and clattered to the floor. Mumbling about being saved by Peter, Neal fell deeper asleep. Kyle walked down the hall and went downstairs to his father's study. "So what happened to Neal?" Vincent asked as he looked up from the book he was reading. "Nothing… he had a small accident, he fell down a flight of stairs," Kyle replied as he dropped his body onto the couch. "Fell or was pushed?" Vincent asked as he stood up and walked around his desk and stood before his son. "I may have helped him down the stairs, he was threatening to leave me all because I gave him a black eye," Kyle said.

Vincent looked at his son for a moment before backhanding him hard in the face. "If you keep laying a hand on that boy he will leave before he agrees to help us with the treasure," Vincent said as he looked coldly at Kyle. "It's not my fault he doesn't listen to me, he's willful you know that as well as I do. He's harder to control with Burke around; I should have taken Burke out a long time ago," Kyle remarked as he put his feet up on the coffee table. "You know that if you did that then our plan would have never succeeded. Yes, Burke is a thorn in our side, but as long as he doesn't know where Neal is then we have a very long window of opportunity. He's going to follow FBI procedure, which means it will be hours before they start looking, first they will send men to the train and bus station then start calling other hospitals, then after they are sure Neal isn't getting out of Manhattan they will start to search," Vincent assured as he pushed his son's feet off the table.

Kyle nodded as he looked at his hand where Neal had scratched him earlier the red welts having finally gone down. "I have to hand it to Neal he is a scrappy fighter when it comes to his own safety," he remarked with a smirk as he looked at his father. "He wouldn't have to be a scrappy fighter if you just followed our plan, all you had to do was tell him some story about an abusive family life and get him to like you, then marry him to keep him an eye on him and then he gets the treasure from us, but no you had to let your anger problems and jealousy take over, if you lay a hand on him again you will regret it," Vincent warned as he walked back to his desk.

* * *

><p>Peter looked at the small group of agents standing in the private waiting room they were using as a command center. "Neal has been kidnapped by his husband Kyle Grant; he may also be using the name Kyle Adler at this time. I want you three to go with Diana and start asking staff if they saw anything, you two go with Jones and start pulling security tapes and look for which way they went and if there was a car waiting in the parking lot," Peter ordered. But before anyone moved a young probie raised his hand. "Um sir, procedure states that we wait to search for Caffrey, we're supposed to put men on watch for him so he doesn't escape the city," the young agent said his voice getting lower at the end when he saw the anger on Peter's face.<p>

Grabbing the young agent by his collar Peter shoved him up against the wall the anger clear on his face. "Fuck the procedure, Neal is with a man that is abusing him; he was in this hospital tonight because his husband threw him down a flight of stairs and nearly killed him. I will not let anything else happen to Neal and following procedure could get him killed. So do what I fucking say or you will be playing chew toy for the K-9 unit at Quantico do you understand?" Peter growled. The agent nodded and slipped away from Peter and hid in the back of the group as they split into their respective groups and left the room. Dante and Nick walked over and sat at the table that had been brought in, "I didn't know you had it in you to scare the living crap out of people," Nick remarked with a smirk. Dante nodded in agreement as he watched Peter sit across from them.

"I was only gone for two minutes; I just wonder how they got past so many doctors although with Neal so doped up on pain killers he probably couldn't even walk very well. So then how the hell did Kyle get him out of this hospital?" Peter asked hypothetically as he tried to calm himself down. Nick looked at his cousin for a moment before looking at Peter. "I didn't want to say anything with everyone around but we may be able to locate Neal without all this government red tape; remember we both come from a large family of criminals and we all have contacts that can help, I bet we can locate Adler, I mean it's obvious that's where Kyle would take my brother to heal before trying to get him out of the country," the elder Caffrey brother remarked as he pulled the laptop over. "Dante call your South American contact in Brazil, Maria something…ask her if she's heard anything?" Nick asked as he started to type up an email to his mother and aunt.

Dante tapped his chin for a moment. "Do you mean Maria-Ann or Maria-Sophia?" he asked tried to remember the right name. "What's the difference?" Nick asked as he finished up his email and sent it. Dante laughed a bit "There is a huge difference, one is the fence that you know that owns that strip club as a front to clean her money and the others is the drug lord's sister who also runs fence but she also forges checks as well," he said clearing up the air. Nick looked at his cousin with a clueless look on his face. "Wait is that the same drug lord's sister you had sex with at her brother's wedding?" Nick asked ignoring the look from Peter. Shaking his head as he pulled his phone out of his pocket Dante started to scroll through his contact list. "No your thinking of the Albanian mafia boss's daughter I slept with on her father's wedding night. I slept with the drug lord's sister on her wedding night after her fiancée bailed on her of course… I do have some standards," Dante said as he found the name he was looking for.

Nick smirked "Man-whore" he mumbled as he began to type up another email to his contacts in Russia. Dante smirked as he hit the send button and waited for someone to pick up. "You know it," he replied with a smirk. Peter rolled his eyes he knew right away where Neal got his personality from; half from his brother and half from his cousin. Getting up from the chair he walked out of the room to call Elizabeth and update her on everything that was going on. Once the other line picked up Peter pushed the conversation he overheard out of his mind. "Hey hon… no luck yet, but apparently Nick and Dante are going to find Neal using their contacts to tell family and friends about the situation and find out where Neal has been taken, we're assuming that Kyle would take him to his father's home while Neal heals before moving him again," Peter said as he leaned against the wall worried out of his mind about Neal.

"His father… you mean Adler right…he lives at two thirty-eight West Eighty-Fourth Street," Elizabeth said recalling the address from memory. Peter almost fell over from shock when he heard the address. "How do you know where he lives?" Peter asked as he lowered his voice after raising it. "Funny thing actually I was checking out a new catering place after work and I saw Kyle walk out of a restaurant with an older man that looked just like him only older so I followed them a couple blocks and I meant to tell you sooner but I forgot, and I didn't know that was Adler until you told me a couple days ago that Adler was Kyle's father," Elizabeth said as she sat up in bed more.

Peter put his hand over his eyes and sighed. "We'll talk more about that later I need to go get Neal before its too late, later hon," Peter said as he hung up before his wife could respond. Walking back into the makeshift command center he smirked "I have a pretty good idea where Neal is, we should get going before someone makes a run for it," Peter said as he grabbed his jacket and put it on.

* * *

><p>Kyle sighed out of boredom as he looked around the study. Trying to think of something to do his father's butler walked into the room and cleared his throat. "Excuse me sirs but Master Neal has woken up and he's asking to go to the hospital. He says the medicine has worn off and he needs more," the older man said before leaving the room. Vincent and Kyle left the room and went up to the room where Neal was. When they entered the room Neal was attempting to reach for his phone where it had landed on the floor beside the bed. Walking around the bed Vincent picked up the phone and turned it off before pocketing it. "We can't have you calling for help now can we?" he asked with a smirk as he sat on the chair near the bed.<p>

"You two realize that Peter will find me then you two will go to jail for the rest of your lives," Neal said as he sat up and held his head up and tried to look brave. "How cute… you hope he'll find you in time. Well let me break this down for you Neal… if Burke does manage to figure out where you are he'll be shot upon arrival along with any other agents he brings with him, now I have a job I want you to perform and you won't be able to do that if you're in mourning so I'll give you a chance to save their lives. Call Burke off and say goodbye while you're at it who knows if you'll ever see him again," Adler said as he fished the phone out of his pocket and turned it back on before tossing it into Neal's hands. "Call and don't get cute with it; just tell him to back off, you have three minutes…go," he added as he looked at his watch.

Neal hit the speed dial for Peter's number and waited as the other line rang, before the second ring Peter picked up. Neal swallowed hard before speaking. "Peter…Peter… listen to me, call off the search…don't look for me, I've been given three minutes to say my goodbyes so here it goes Peter…you mean more to me than anything, you've been there for me through the fun times and hard times and I will never forget it and in case you didn't know it I really do love you. Now let me talk to Nick, Nick… U nih yestʹ oruzhie zhdet vas, oni budut ubivatʹ vas, yesli vy prishli syuda," Neal said as he hung up before Peter could take the phone back.

Nick hung up and handed Peter his phone back with a defeated look on his face. "Neal gave me a warning in Russian…he said Kyle and his father have guns and they are ready to shoot us dead if we show up at their doorstep we have to back off and wait for Neal's next move. He'll call us again I know it," Nick said as he tried to reassure Peter. "It sounded like he was saying goodbye because they were about to kill him," Peter said as he walked over to a bench and sat down. Nick walked over and sat beside the agent. "As long as Neal does what they say then he'll stay alive but as soon as he's done they won't need him anymore unless he can convince them he's still useful," he said as he hoped Neal would be safe.

Peter took a long deep breath before speaking "I just hope your right, Neal has to work hard to convince them he's needed," Peter said as he stood up. "Call the team and tell them to head back to the office we're pulling an all nighter if we have to we need to come up with a plan and to wait for Neal's next call," he said as he got up and started to head back to his car with the cousins in tow. Making their way to the office Nick stared out the window and thought about his brother. "Neal's got this under control I mean he survived being shot and sold into slavery," Dante said as he saw Peter look at him in the rearview mirror. "Don't push it…Neal is going to come home as soon as we figure a way into that place," Peter said as he kept going to the office.

When they arrived the team was waiting for them, and right away Peter took the lead. "Everyone get a cup of coffee and sit down we're not going anywhere until we figure out how to get Neal back safe from where he's being held," Peter said as he looked around at his team. "If we succeed we will also be taking down one of the biggest thorns in our side forever, if there are any questions Nick and Dante will fill you in," he added as he watched his team get to work. Walking into his office Peter sat down behind his desk and sat back as he looked at the pictures of him and Neal that he had on his desk. _I didn't get a chance to say I loved him back but he probably knows it…besides I'll get to tell him soon once we get a plan to move in and make sure he's secure._ Peter thought.

Peter sighed and looked at the photo one more minute before turning to his computer. Turning the computer on he pulled up map of the city and typed in the address Elizabeth had given him. As he watched the dot float over the address he tried to think of how to breach the residence with putting anyone's life in danger.

* * *

><p>Kyle looked at his husband and held his hand out so he could take the phone back. Neal held the phone close and looked at the two men. "Can I keep it for a while I would like to look at the pictures of me and Peter, I swear I won't call anyone... please for an hour?"Neal pleaded with his best puppy dog eyes. Vincent slowly stood up and put his hand on Kyle's shoulder.<p>

"One hour and if I hear a sound come from this room I will take your phone and I will destroy it, and you will be locked in the closet without medical attention," Adler warned as he led Kyle out of the room. As soon as he was alone Neal silenced his phone and began to type a quick text message to Peter. After sending the message Neal hid the phone under his arm as the door opened again. Kyle walked into the room and sat on the other side of the bed before speaking. "Before you get all upset at me I brought you this," Kyle said as he handed Neal a washcloth with a couple ice cubes in it. Neal gave a weak smile as he lifted the ice to his broken cheek and winced at the cold. "Thanks, but this still doesn't make up for anything," Neal said as he kept his gaze away from Kyle. "I know…but I hope this does," Kyle remarked with a smile as he pulled an icepack bag out from behind his back and leaned over and put the bag over Neal's ankle and adjusted it so it covered the swelled ankle.

Neal watched his husband and gave a small smile at the humor. "It doesn't…maybe if you explain why your being so nice after you threw me down a flight of stairs; I mean you can't really love me since you just tried to kill me" Neal accused as he pushed himself up. "I'm sorry about that. You know how in those AA meetings they say the first step is admitting you have a problem, well I'll admit it I have severe anger issues and I get jealous very easy. I also want to admit that I was scared of losing you to that cultureless idiot," Kyle said as he moved closer to Neal. "Peter is not an idiot he actually knows a lot more than you think, and I think you have more than a problem with anger, you are also quick to judge everyone and let your anger take over. You realize that Peter isn't going to be scared off by a few guns; he's going to use all the connections he can to get me back," Neal said as he gave an inner smirk at the thought of the text he sent.

"Let him try, we're not staying here much longer. In fact as soon as the doctor arrives and puts your ankle in a cast we're leaving and heading to our new location where you get to help us get what we want," Kyle said as he moved in closer to Neal. Sliding away as far as he could and not fall off the bed Neal looked away toward the window. "Babe what did you say to your brother?" Kyle asked as saw Neal's phone poking out from under his arm. "I didn't want to be embarrassed by saying that I loved him so I said it in Russian… I wanted a little dignity okay," Neal lied as he shifted his arm to cover his phone. Kyle chuckled a bit, "That's really cute, I don't believe you however I won't push it right now," he said as he leaned over and kissed Neal before pulling away with a smirk. "You can send Burke a million text messages asking for help but he'll never come," he said as he got up from the bed and walked toward the door.

As Neal opened his mouth to speak the door opened revealing Vincent and an older man carrying a medical bag. The doctor moved around the bed and lifted the ice bag off of Neal's ankle and began to busy himself as he dug around his bag and pulled out an air cast for Neal's ankle. "This will hurt a bit as I put this on and you'll have to ice it for a couple days to keep the swelling down but you should be fine afterwards," the doctor said as he forced the cast onto Neal's swollen ankle and ignored his cries of pain. When he was done he handed Neal two bottles of pills. "The bottle with the blue label is filled with sedatives to help you sleep and the yellow labeled bottle is filled with pain killers. If you need to take any pills take two yellow for your pain and one blue pill in case you need to sleep," he said as he left leaving Neal still wincing in pain. Not trusting the doctor Neal tossed the bottles onto the floor and tried to relax.

Kyle grabbed the bottles and put them on the nightstand and sat down beside Neal his hand wrapped around Neal's hand. "Take some pain killers I can tell you're in pain babe, I'll get you some more ice if you like," Kyle said as he started to get up. Grasping his hand tight Neal stopped the other man from leaving. "Before you go can you take that cast off; it hurts so much, all I really need is an ace bandage and some crutches… please Kyle it's so painful," Neal added not bothering to hide the pain he was in. Taking pity on the other man Kyle removed the cast and left the room before coming back with a sealed bandage box and after opening it he carefully wrapped up Neal's foot and ankle.

"We don't have any crutches but don't worry I'll help you get around," Kyle said as he helped Neal off of the bed. Letting Neal lean against him and use his body as a crutch Kyle helped Neal to the door. Wincing with each step Neal ignored the arm around his waist. Kyle helped Neal down the stairs and out the back door. Vincent looked up from the book he was looking at. "It's nice to see you out of bed Neal. I was hoping you would be on your feet soon, I know it's late but I thought we could talk under the paper lantern light and just enjoy nice May night," Vincent said as he snapped his fingers and a bottle of wine was brought out with three glasses. Neal looked at the wine in his glass. "Don't worry, I didn't drug it…" Vincent said as he picked up his glass and took a deep whiff of the wine and started to drink it.

Neal picked up his glass and sipped the wine. "So are you ever going to explain to me what this so called job is?" Neal asked as he put his glass down on the table. "Ah yes, I guess I should tell you about what we're doing before we go. Do you remember that silly old music box that you went looking for; well it held a very big clue to finding a very grand treasure. Tell me Neal what do you know of Nazi plunder?" Vincent asked as he poured another glass of wine for Neal. "It's what it is, the Nazi's stole from the countries they invaded, but most of the treasure has been returned to their respected countries. Though, of course, there are many works of art that still have never be found, whether because they were lost or are in private hands," Neal said as he ignored the new glass for a moment before picking it up and began drinking it.

Vincent smirked at his son-in-law. "Very good Neal, now I know we said we were going to leave this house tonight but I've decided it's late and we should all get some rest so we'll leave bright and early in the morning," he said as he finished his glass and put it on the table. "Besides Agent Burke isn't going to make a move until he's gone through all the procedures," Vincent added as he got up from his chair. "You two should get to bed soon, oh and before I forget, Neal if you're going to send secret text messages in the night just know that if any one of my personal security even smells an FBI agent then someone might get hurt," the older con said with a smirk as he went back inside. Neal reined in his anger as he watched Vincent go back inside. "He's right you know, someone could get seriously hurt or worse," Kyle remarked as he got up from his chair. "Let's get to bed, it's been a long day," Kyle said as he helped Neal up and brought him back into the townhouse.

* * *

><p>Peter rose from his chair and walked out to the bullpen where everyone was working. Walking up to Nick and Dante he sat across from them. "I can't think of a plan to get him out, and all this sitting and waiting is making me go crazy. I have no idea what could be happening to him right this minute, the only contact since his call was a text message saying that he knows that I love him, but that was almost an hour ago," Peter said as he pulled his phone out and checked it again for another message. Nick looked at his cousin before looking at Peter. "Just calm down he'll get you a message soon," Nick said as he tried to help out his brother's lover.<p>

"Nick's right, he'll get you a message sooner or later, besides he's a scrappy fighter when it comes down to it. We know we've been on the receiving end of his right hook a couple times growing up. Nick more than me of course," Dante said as he tried to be helpful. Feeling his worry still eating at him Peter barely felt his cell phone vibrating in his pocket. Pulling it out he walked away from everyone as he answered it. "Peter…I don't know how long I have, I know what they want…its treasure, Nazi plunder from the war…" Neal said as he kept his back turned to the door to keep from being heard. "Neal…please, you need to be very careful…" Peter said as he worried about Neal being on the phone. "I'm fine Peter… Kyle is downstairs, besides he's been warned that if he hurts me Vincent will punish him…" Neal said with a smile, was unaware that Kyle was behind the door listening to his conversation.

Neal sighed softly "God I miss you Peter…especially your hands…and your mouth especially when you attack my neck," Neal said with a purr. Kyle had heard enough at that point letting his anger boil over he kicked the door open he saw Neal sit up and almost drop his phone. "Kyle…I…it's not what it sounds like…" Neal said as he sat up on the bed and kept his eyes locked on his husband and started to breath heavy. "Didn't I tell you that I didn't like your flirting with Burke," Kyle growled as he stood over Neal and grabbed Neal around the throat and started to squeeze. "I'm sorry…" Neal choked out as he tried to pull Kyle's hands away from his neck. Realizing he was on the verge of passing out Neal used the heel of his hand and struck Kyle in the nose.

Kyle released Neal "You broke my nose…"Kyle yelled as he came at Neal again. "Stop right there," Vincent said calmly as he held a gun up and pointed it at his son. "Neal, give me the phone…" he added as he held his hand out and took the phone from Neal. "Agent Burke…don't worry about Neal he's fine and he's going to stay fine I promise," Adler said as he hung up on Peter and pocketed the phone in his breast pocket.

Hanging up his phone Peter walked over to Diana. "Those agents we sent to watch the house are they also watching all the exits?" Peter asked as he tried to keep himself calm. "Don't worry; the place is surrounded and the men are checking in on the two minute intervals you set up and they are ready to start moving the second Neal leaves the house," Diana reassured as she watched Peter fidget like Neal did when he was nervous about something_. Neal you better keep your mouth shut…I'm not there to protect you,_ Peter thought as he hoped that his partner wasn't pushing what luck he had left.

* * *

><p>Neal looked at the gun in Vincent's hand still. "If you wouldn't mind do you mind putting that away?" Neal asked uncomfortably as he kept his eyes locked on the gun. Giving a smirk Vincent put the gun away and looked at his son. "Kyle, leave us… just… go…" Vincent said as he watched Kyle look at Neal with a small glare. "Don't worry about him; what you really should be worried about… is me," he added as he shut the door behind his son and watched Neal closely.<p>

"I don't know what it is but Kyle must really care about you because he never got jealous about anyone else he dated, but I don't condone what he's done to you. So I'll make you a deal you help me willingly with this treasure without your little FBI guard dogs, the ones downtown and the ones outside my home and I'll help you when you finally divorce my son," Vincent offered as he helped Neal onto his feet. Neal laughed softly, "I've already got evidence and witnesses, and they trump you nothing's better than having an FBI agent as a witness," Neal remarked. Vincent smirked at Neal's answer. "That is a very good plan but you know that if you bring Burke into this Kyle will just bring up your relationship with a married man…and it might just ruin him," Vincent warned as he helped Neal out of the room.

Kyle moved from the wall he was leaning against and followed behind his father as they made their way out the front door to the waiting town car. Vincent opened the door and let Neal and Kyle in first before getting in. After instructing his driver to go and lose the tail the car pulled away from the curb and began to make its way into the city traffic. Neal began to wring his hands together in worry. He hoped that the agents that were supposed to be tailing them wouldn't lose them in the late night city traffic. Soon Neal heard the driver tell Adler that he lost the agents at the last light. Neal's heart sank when he realized he was alone.

* * *

><p>Diana answered her phone when it began to ring. "Okay… return to the office I'll tell him," she said as she looked at Peter as he began to drift off in a chair by the records shelves. Walking across the bullpen with half of the agents falling asleep Diana readied herself for her boss's response. "Peter…the agents that were following Neal… they lost him," she said as Peter's eyes snapped open. "Jones… see if Kyle's cell phone is on and track it if it is, I want to know where they are going. Once we have a location I want the others to move in and keep a buffer around the location until I get a message from Neal," Peter said as the adrenaline coursing though his veins began to wake him up.<p>

Soon agents were rushing around the office getting ready to move as soon as they had a location. Peter barked orders and then fired two agents for not moving fast enough. Moving around the office Peter is running on pure adrenaline and fear that Neal could die at any time. "Jones is the phone on or not?" Peter snapped at the agent. "Yeah it's on and moving at a good pace their heading to the river near the warehouse district, the phone has stopped they must be where they wanted to go," Jones said as he searched for an address. "I've got the address," he added as he held up a slip of paper for Peter to grab as he rounded his desk.

Peter snatched the paper and looked at it before looking at his team. Before he spoke the glass doors opened behind him. Peter turned around and found himself looking at his boss. "I got a call ten minutes ago saying you pulled the team together at midnight for a rescue mission because Caffrey disappeared from the hospital. I called the hospital on my way here…Caffrey checked out against medical advice, he wasn't kidnapped…so everyone go home and go back to bed, Burke I want to see you and your little Scooby Doo gang in my office now," Hughes said as he walked through the group of agents that were filing past and heading back to their homes. Peter led the group into Hughes's office. "I'm pulling the plug on this rescue mission you have planned. It's pretty simple to see that Neal ran off, his anklet is gone he took advantage of it. It wouldn't surprise me if the injuries he has were all planned out in advance," Hughes said as he sat down at his desk.

"Are you saying that you think this is some con? Neal would never do something like that; he is being terrorized by Kyle and I don't care if you believe me or not. I'm not letting Neal spend another minute with Kyle or Adler," Peter said as he stood there. "Fire me if you want but that's not going to stop me from saving Neal even if you're right. I'm bringing him home," Peter said as he put his badge on the desk. Standing in silence everyone looked at Peter and Hughes. "You have two hours, if Caffrey isn't as innocent as fallen snow; then you are going to have to arrest him and put him back in jail," Reese ordered as he tossed Peter back his badge. "Try not to end up on the five a.m. news," Hughes remarked. Peter pocketed his badge and left the office with his smaller team.

Nick took up the rear and looked at the group in front of him. "So he called us the Scooby gang, so that makes Peter, Fred…Diana is most certainly Daphne… so what does that make the rest of us?" Nick asked as they walked through the bull pen. Diana smirked and turned the three behind her. "Well Jones is defiantly Velma because of his brains…and of course you two are the human personification of Shaggy and Scooby, I'll let you figure out which is which," she said with a smirk. Dante smirked as they walked out of the glass doors and into the elevator. "So does that make Neal Scrappy Doo?" he asked making everyone smile a bit.

Peter pressed the down button and let his smile fade as he kept his back to the others. Neal, _get a text message to me… I need to know you're all right… _he thought as the doors opened. "Remember we're working alone, it's just the five of us," Peter said as they got into the elevator. Nick smirked "I can help with that, give me just a couple minutes," he said as he pulled out his phone out of his pocket.

* * *

><p>Neal leaned against Kyle as they stood looking at the monstrosity of war in front of them. "It's a…Nazi sub…" Neal remarked in awe as he looked around the vast almost never ending warehouse. "How… how did you get it here without anyone seeing?" he asked softly as he looked at Adler as he walked in front of them. "I had to pay a lot of people off but you know what Neal you also helped…the music box… that's what led me to this beauty and inside this metal behemoth is a cargo hold filled with riches that could make us very rich for the rest of our lives," Vincent said as he placed his hand on the side of the sub and gave it a rub. "It's been sitting on the bottom of the ocean for years, forgotten by everyone and father time. Now I asked you here because the hatch door is laced with explosives," Vincent said as he looked at Neal.<p>

Yeah… asked me here that's a good one," Neal remarked as he hobbled a few steps before falling. Vincent moved over and caught Neal before he hit the cement floor. "Come along Neal… let's get you set up on the deck," Adler said as he forced Neal toward the long flight of stairs that led up the scaffolding to the deck of the submarine. Neal kept his hand tightly wrapped his cell phone that he had stolen back. Once they reached the top of the scaffolding Vincent moved Neal onto the deck and helped him sit by the hatch where the tools were waiting. "Well I'll get right to work, I have to admit I am quite curious to see what is in here," Neal said as he got comfortable while kneeling on the deck by the hatch.

Vincent nodded "Oh and we have insurance just in case you try to screw us over Neal… we're not stupid, look at the window," he said as he pointed to the large window. Neal looked over and gave out a small groan as Victor handed him and ear piece and microphone before he put the ear piece in his ear. "Hey Alex…it's been a while, how did they get you?" Neal asked as he saw his somewhat close friend being held by his husband. Alex struggled against her captor. "Oh you know… fake email from you saying you had paintings to sell and someone drugged me at the airport before driving me here. What about you?" she asked as if there wasn't a knife being held against her back.

Giving a small laugh Neal shrugged his shoulders. "Oh you know I fell into a deep depression, cut my wrists, got conned into marrying an overly jealous abusive jerk who it turns out is Adler's son. Color me surprised with that one oh and I'm having an affair with an FBI agent," Neal said with a laugh as he got ready to work. Vincent moved from the deck and made his way back down the stairs. Neal slipped his phone out of his pocket and kept it to the side as he typed his message and sent it. Nick you better understand this or I will kill you myself… he promised as he slid the phone back into his pocket. Picking up the safety glasses Neal put them on before picking up the drill at his side.

Alex bit her lip as she watched the monitor as Neal drilled a hole near the hatch door. "Excuse me but you can take that knife away from my spine I'm not going anywhere; you've made sure of that by locking the door," Alex said as she pulled away and walked over to the window and watched Neal. "So I take it that you're the one Neal was talking about the one he married," she remarked looking over her shoulder at Kyle. "That's correct, I've managed to do the one thing so many have dreamed of I've tied the great Neal Caffrey down," Kyle remarked with a smirk. Alex laughed and turned around "You can't tame Neal… no one's been able to do that ever, I don't even think Burke has total control over Neal," she said laughing.

Vincent walked into the room and looked at Alex. "It's been a while, Ms. Hunter," Vincent remarked as he walked over to Alex and stood beside her. "Neal is very resourceful he'll get the hatch open and safely. Neal lowered the drill and tapped the microphone on. "Ok I'm opening the hatch now…there's a machine in here… I need a password…or this is going to blow," Neal said as he watched the timer. Alex grabbed the microphone out of Adler's hand. "Neal its Midas, just trust me…now type it in," Alex ordered as she watched Neal slowly type out the letters on the machine.

When the locks clicked open Neal let out the breath he had been holding. "That was entertaining; now get going and head down and make sure there are no more traps down there. Just be careful when you climb down, you wouldn't want to hurt your ankle anymore than it is," Adler said his voice laced with a smirk of sarcasm. Neal looked down the dark hole. "No divorce is worth this…" he mumbled as he carefully climbed down the ladder and into the decks below. Pulling the small flashlight out of his pocket that he had grabbed from the bag of tools on the deck Neal turned it on and used his free hand to brace himself; against the wall as he heavily limped down the dark hall. Avoiding the knee knockers carefully the ex con moved through the belly of the sub.

After following the directions fed through the microphone in his ear. Neal found himself standing outside the main cargo hold. Once he was sure that his weight was balanced Neal put the flashlight down and began to open the door. Neal limped back and pulled the door open. When it was open wide enough he slipped in with his flashlight and began to look around. "Are you watching Adler? Because this is the last image you get to see…" Neal said as he took off his glasses and snapped them in half and tossed them aside before pulling out the ear piece and throwing it on the ground.

Walking over to one of the crates he slowly opened it and looked inside the light from his flashlight reflected off the gold and filled the small hold with a golden light. Neal was awe struck as he looked around at the paintings and sealed crates with the hidden treasures that world had been kept from for so many years.


	8. Convict

**(( I so apologize for making everyone wait so long for this chapter I was stuck on parts and then I went away and now I finally finished and I hope you all enjoy this chapter and look forward to the next one, once again thanks Peppe and everyone please read or review or I might do something very bad to Neal again hehe))  
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**Chapter 7: Convict**

Peter rubbed his eyes hard as he looked at the computer screen in the back of the FBI surveillance van. Just as he let out another yawn the back doors opened as Nick climbed back in. "Here's the coffee, everyone hurry and drink it fast while it's hot, who knows how long we're going to be here," Nick remarked as he climbed into the cramped van and took his seat.

"Before you get comfortable can you explain this text message to me?" Peter asked as he handed his phone over to Nick. Giving a small chuckle Nick handed the phone back to Peter. "It's an old code that Neal and I came up with when we were kids. It looks like we both think the same way, Neal is a couple steps behind me of course I already did this," Nick remarked as he grabbed his coffee and began to drink it. Dante rubbed his eyes and looked at his cousin. "How much longer do we have to wait here until our back up shows up? You promised us back up that was better than anything the FBI could give us, so where is it?" he asked grabbing at a coffee and getting his hand slapped away by Diana who wanted the same cup. Nick leaned against the wall of the van. "Hold your Italian race horses, I got the back up and they are outside in place the moment we need them," Nick said as he looked at one of the monitors where they were watching Neal's cell phone data.

Diana leaned back in her seat and looked at the older Caffrey. "You must have some connections you only made one phone call," she remarked as she sipped her coffee. Nick laughed as he opened the van doors to let some fresh air in. "One call was all I needed, trust me this is going to be pretty exciting to see how it all pans out," he said as he looked out the back doors at the city lights. Peter looked out the doors for a moment he thought he saw movement but he chalked it up to the lack of sleep.

* * *

><p>Neal looked around the cargo hold once more. "It really is marvelous, I've never seen something so beautiful," Adler said as he walked into the cargo hold with Alex at his side. "Neal, thank you for helping me unlock that door, now I think you and Ms. Hunter have worn out usefulness, so I think it's time to cut our losses," he said as two men blocked the doorway. Neal hobbled back a couple steps and watched as one of the men walked closer to him. "Stay away from me," Neal said as he reached behind him and felt around for a weapon. Before he could find anything the man grabbed Neal by the wrist and pulled him into his arms.<p>

"I don't want to hurt you so stop it," the man said as he began to squeeze Neal in a bear hug. Right away Neal stopped out of fear that his ribs would break. Once Neal and Alex were detained the men walked them out of the hold and led them to the ladder. Forcing them up the ladder to the deck above the guards forced their captives down the stairs to the ground. "You know babe, I heard you over the microphone about wanting a divorce," Kyle remarked as he came out of the shadows. Neal stepped back bumped into one of the guards behind him. "Kyle… I was kidding, I don't want to divorce you…I love you…" Neal grit out with a false smile, he knew that Kyle was unstable and would turn to violence again. "Well that is a load of shit; unless you're really screwed up in the head you don't love me," Kyle spat out as he walked closer. Before he could turn his head away Neal felt a rag cover his mouth and nose.

As soon as the smell hit his olfactory senses Neal knew that the rag was soaked in chloroform and before he even had a chance to fight back Neal felt his body give into the fumes. Right away Neal felt like he was falling down a dark hole and he couldn't stop himself. Alex watched as the guard moved the rag away and lifted Neal over his shoulder as if he were just a doll. When she sensed the other guard coming close she pulled away and began to run for it. The moment she heard a gun cock she came to a dead stop. "Now that's a good girl," Kyle said as he motioned for the other guard to grab her and bring her back.

"Put them in the holding room until we're done loading everything into the truck," Kyle ordered as he put his gun away and made his way into the sub where his father was. Alex let herself be led into the holding room along with Neal. As the men left Alex walked over to the unconscious Neal and sat beside him. "Don't worry Neal I'm sure Peter is working like a blood hound to find you," she said softly as she played with his hair. Alex always felt better if she talked out her problems when she was in dangerous situations even if Neal was unconscious on some level he was still listening to her. "Next time I get an email from you I'll make sure it really is you," she added with a small laugh as she petted Neal's hair a bit.

A few minutes Neal slowly began to regain consciousness; groaning softly he looked up at Alex. "Oh my head," he mumbled as he covered his eyes to wait to get used to the light above them. "Just keep your eyes closed for a few minutes. Just let the chloroform fumes wear off and it will be fine," Alex said softly as she looked around the room for anything to use as a weapon. Neal sat up slowly and started to look around the room. "I guess we're locked in here until they are done with taking everything and putting it in the truck. That treasure should not be in their hands, it should be returned to the families of the survivors or the museums of the world," Neal said as he rubbed his head. "Those fumes must have gotten to you, you never would say that normally," she remarked as she kept Neal sitting up. "Yeah you're right… I guess I'm still light headed" Neal lied.

After an hour alone in the room Alex finally broke the ice. "So what drove you to the… you know?" she asked as she tapped the inner plane of her wrist. Neal looked down at his wrists and swallowed hard. "I… I stole a necklace for Adler after he promised to tell me who killed Kate, but before I could get away clean Peter caught me and put me back in prison and when I tried to apologize he just wouldn't listen and I just couldn't take it any longer so I smashed the mirror in my cell and used a shard of glass to cut my wrists," Neal said recounting the night he attempted suicide. Alex gave a weak smile and put her arm around Neal.

* * *

><p>Kyle watched as the two burly guards carry the crates and paintings carefully out of the cargo hold and into the truck that was waiting below the scaffolding. "So what do you want me to do with that woman and Neal?" he asked looking at the gun in his hand. "Send Ms. Hunter to the Plaza with ten thousand dollars, drug her first if you have to… make sure she's out of our hair; then you can do what you want to Neal since he is your husband," Vincent said as he walked over to a painting and looked it over. Kyle moved away from the crate he was leaning against. "I think I have the perfect choice on how to make him pay," Kyle remarked as he left the sub and made his way to the holding room, collecting two more guards Kyle unlocked the door and pointed at Alex. "Get her out of here," he said as he handed a couple large wads of cash to one of the men while the other grabbed Alex by the arm and began to drag her out of the room.<p>

Neal struggled to get to his feet as Kyle grabbed him roughly by the arm and forced Neal to walk on his injured ankle and put all the weight on it. "While your friend gets a ride to a hotel you're going to be taking a little walk with me babe… I think you might enjoy it," Kyle remarked as they left the warehouse and made their way toward the town car parked near the stacks of large ship pallets. The sounds of the night-morning filled the air, traffic began to increase on the highways and fill the air with sound pollution. Trying to ignore the blinding pain radiating from his leg Neal continued to stumble as he was dragged behind his husband.

Nick watched the external cameras and smirked "I don't think you'll want to miss this," he remarked as he led the team out of the van and pointed them toward the four moving shadows. Picking up a radio Nick pressed the button on the side of it. "Red squad move in…remember there are two hostages, proceed with extreme caution," Nick ordered as he watched the shadows around the warehouse begin to move. Pulling out his gun Nick looked at Dante and motioned for him to follow as backup. Peter stayed frozen as he watched the two men move in closer. Soon floodlights filled the area with light. "Freeze… FBI…" Nick yelled as he moved into the light with sniper rifle pointed at Kyle.

"You're not going to shoot me while I'm so close to your baby brother," Kyle remarked with a smirk as pulled Neal in front of him to use as a human shield. Nick smirked and raised his gun up and squeezed the trigger. Before anyone could blink Kyle was on the ground holding his leg in pain. "You shot me in the knee you son of a bitch…" Kyle yelled out as he breathed heavy and pulled a gun from his belt and pointed it at Neal. "Anyone even breathes wrong and I drop him like a stone," he warned as he pushed himself up until he was against the brick wall of the warehouse. Using the wall Kyle stood back up and kept his gun pointed at his husband. Neal kept stock still as he looked at his brother. Nick smirked and raised his hand up to his mouth and let out a piercing whistle, soon the area was filled with fifteen Navy Seals dressed head to toe in black and seventy-two Marines with their guns drawn.

Smirking Nick raised his gun again. "You have eighty-nine guns trained on you Grant… I dare you to even sneeze," Nick yelled as he watched his brother-in-law through his sniper's scope. "Neal back up until you feel my gun against your head," Kyle ordered. Neal moved backwards like he was ordered and closed his eyes when he felt the muzzle of the gun butt up against the back of his head. "Can I say something before you shoot me?" Neal asked softly. Kyle thought for a moment "Fine, just make it quick and make it good…" he said with an evil smirk in his voice.

Opening his eyes slowly Neal looked at his brother and gave him a nod. Then putting all his faith in his brother Neal took in a deep breath and fell straight down onto his knees. As he fell he felt the bullet graze the side of his head before it buried itself into Kyle's shoulder throwing the man back against the brick wall. Neal closed his eyes as he felt the blood trickle from where the bullet grazed his head. Before he could move Neal felt someone holding him. It only took Neal a moment to realize the person holding him was Peter. "It's okay Neal you're fine I'm right here," Peter said softly as he felt Neal grab onto his shirt and start to let out the tears he had been holding back. Peter removed his jacket to put it around Neal and pulled him closer.

"You're safe Neal… I promise," Peter said as he kept Neal close and rubbed his back until he calmed down. "I want to go home…I'm tired and hungry," Neal said softly as he kept his face buried against Peter's shoulder. "We're going to go soon," Peter reassured as he waved Nick over to help him stand Neal up. "But first you're going to the hospital to get checked out and get some pain medication and crutches, then back to my place where you can sleep all day and eat what you like," he added as he put his arm around Neal's waist. Neal wanted to argue but he was too tired and he knew that Peter would be mad if he said no.

* * *

><p>After six minutes the ambulance arrived and Neal watched as the EMTs put Kyle in the back of the ambulance. When the female EMT came over and asked if he wanted to ride with Kyle he looked at Peter before shaking his head. "No… but you should get him to the hospital soon," Neal said before the woman left. As the ambulance left Neal watched as the backup moved into the warehouse and began to search the area for Vincent. Diana and Jones walked over with Nick and Dante both FBI agents looked shocked at the backup that had been pulled together. "How did you manage to get the Marines and the Navy Seals here?" Diana asked as she looked at Nick.<p>

Just as he was about to answer an older man walked over and looked at the group. Nick and Neal saluted the man as he came closer. "Boys… staying out of trouble?" he asked as he came to a stop in front of the group. "No sir…" they replied with a smile and dropped their salute. Diana and Jones looked at each other trying to figure out how Nick and Neal knew the man. "Well I guess my work is done here now give me a hug before I go," Tobias said as he stood in front of his grandsons. They both hugged their grandfather quickly before pulling away. "See you later Grandpa, we'll come to visit when we can," they said at the same time. The agents were shocked when they heard that the brothers were related to the older man.

"Wait what about that crazy text message you sent to Nick? What did Add Bell minus D plus MR mean? " Jones asked trying to wrap his head around everything. Nick and Neal laughed. "It meant Admiral Bell as in Admiral Tobias Bell, our grandfather," Neal explained with a smile as he moved back to Peter and let him hold him up. Two hours later after the Marines and Seals had cleared the area and deemed that Adler was in the wind Neal agreed to go to the hospital to get checked out. Peter told his people to go home and take the day off, when everyone had finally left Neal looked at the morning sky above New Jersey as he stood beside Peter. "Hey…don't I get a good morning kiss?" Neal asked as he put his arms around Peter's neck and held onto him. "I think you deserve a kiss for being so brave after being shot at by your own brother," Peter said as he put his arms around Neal's waist and pulled him into a kiss.

When they pulled apart Peter put his forehead against Neal's and sighed softly. "Come on I want you cleared by a doctor before I take you home to sleep," Peter said as he walked over to where his car was hidden and drove it back to where he had Neal sitting. After helping Neal into his car Peter looked at the ex con for a minute. "Peter, do you want to kiss me again?" Neal asked with a sly seductive smirk even though his cheek and body still hurt from Kyle's abuse. Peter reached over the armrest and brushed his thumb against Neal's broken cheek carefully. "After… I know what you're trying to do and you're still going to the hospital to get checked out," Peter explained before pulling his hand away and starting his car up. Neal sighed and watched as Peter drove out of the dock area and passed the FBI car watching the warehouse from the street to make sure the truck didn't leave.

"Peter, are you sure the treasure is safe?" Neal asked as he looked at the vanishing warehouse in the passenger side mirror. Glancing at Neal Peter smiled before he reached over and took Neal's hand in his. "You know what… I don't care if it's safe or not I only care that you're safe. Someone could steal that treasure right now and I wouldn't even bat an eyelash because I know my treasure is safe," Peter admitted. Neal felt his chest tighten. "I think that's the most romantic thing I've ever heard you say to me, even if it's a little cheesy," Neal said with a true smile which made Peter laugh a bit as they pulled up to the hospital. Once he found a spot in the parking garage Peter brought Neal inside and pulled a few strings with his badge to get Neal looked at by a doctor. After they were able to wrangle a doctor Peter hovered as he watched the doctor check Neal's broken cheek. "Agent Burke could you take a step back, I can't really examine Mr. Caffrey with you breathing down my neck," the doctor remarked as he helped Neal remove his shirt so he could check his ribs.

Neal shivered as the doctor's cold hands touched his ribs carefully. "Well they aren't broken but I do need to tape them up to keep you from injuring them more," he said as the nurse handed him the bandages and the tape. Once Neal's ribs were bandaged up the doctor moved down to Neal's ankle and checked it. "Well this is very swollen and most likely a hair line fracture of the bone, the reason for so much swelling is because you haven't been elevating it properly and icing it, if you stay off of it for a couple days and keep it iced the swelling will go down and it will begin to heal," The doctor said as he wrote a prescription for some pain killers for Neal to take.

Once he was done the doctor handed the prescription to Peter and looked at the nurse. "Could you please get me some cotton balls and iodine," he said as he put some gloves on. "I'm just going to clean this head wound, it looks like it will be. Now this might sting a bit," the doctor warned as he started to clean Neal's head wound. Neal pulled away and whimpered at the pain. When the doctor was done Neal got up from the bed and used Peter to keep from falling over.

* * *

><p>Peter kept Neal close under the excuse that he was helping him walk to the car. The moment they were alone he moved his hand lower down Neal's back as he helped him into the car. "I'm taking you home now," he said as he started to close the door. "Peter…can we go back to June's everything I need is on one floor and you can keep me company," Neal said with a smile. "I'll take you to June's under the promise you stay there. I have to get you a new anklet and that could take a couple hours. So you have to stay in bed and keep your ankle elevated," he said as he closed the door ending the conversation. Neal smiled as he turned the radio on the moment the engine turned over. Peter ignored the music as he drove through the city and to June's mansion.<p>

Parking his car he helped Neal out just as June's maid was coming outside for the paper, after a quick greeting Peter helped Neal up to his apartment. As they walked through the door Neal looked around at his old apartment and smiled at the view. "I missed this place so much," he said as he moved away from Peter and limped heavily over to his bed and dropped down on it, the bed sucking him into the soft mattress. "I called June when you were in the hospital the first time around and I told her that you were coming and she had the place dusted and cleaned up just for you," Peter said as he walked over to the bed and sat down on the end of it. Sitting up Neal looked at his ring before removing it and dropping it into a small vase on his nightstand.

Moving closer to Peter and being careful not to jar his ribs or ankle Neal slipped his arms under Peter's and wrapped his arms around the other man's chest. "I saw how you looked at the doctor when he had his hands on me…you were jealous, I like that side of you… I also like how you called me your treasure, it almost makes me want to give up being a con artist," Neal whispered in Peter's ear. "Almost… well then what would make you give it up forever?" Peter asked truly interested in what Neal had to say. "That's going to stay a secret…" Neal whispered as he began to pull away. Peter turned around and found Neal resting against his pillows and giving a yawn. "You're tired, you need to sleep it's been a long night," Peter said as he helped Neal remove his shoes.

"I'm… not tired… but I will change my clothes so I'm more comfortable," Neal said as he tried to keep awake. Undoing his shirt buttons and removing his shirt Neal got off of his bed and limped over to his dresser and grabbed his second favorite pair of pajama bottoms and removed his pants and boxers before attempting to put his pajamas on. Peter chuckled as he watched Neal struggle for a few minutes before getting up and helping Neal put his pants on. "Alright get onto your bed and let me prop your leg up properly and get some ice for you," Peter said as he walked over to the couch and grabbed a couple extra pillows and quickly propped Neal's ankle up and made sure he was comfortable.

Neal sighed softly and leaned back against his pillows while Peter looked for an ice pack in the freezer. "Neal…" Peter called as he turned to look at the younger man. Right away Peter noticed that Neal had fallen asleep. Walking over to the bed Peter put the ice on Neal's ankle and kissed him softly. "I'm not really asleep you know," Neal said as opened his eyes. "I just wanted to see if you would kiss me," Neal said with a smile. Peter chuckled and sat down on the bed. "Is there anything I can do for you to make you feel better?" Peter asked as Neal moved over and cuddled against him. "Could you move the TV over to my dresser at the end of the bed so I have something to do while trapped in bed," Neal said as he moved away from Peter and dropped onto the pillow and crossed his arms across his chest.

Peter laughed as he got off the bed and moved the flat screen with ease to the dresser and set it up so Neal could see. "I'll go and get your painkillers and some crutches to help you get around," he said as he got up from the bed and pulled his keys out of his pocket. "Sit and stay there until I get back," he warned as he left the apartment.

After waiting at the pharmacy for an hour for Neal's prescription and crutches he was finally able to return to Neal's apartment. When he got there he found Neal standing at his easel painting. "Neal you're not supposed to be putting weight on your ankle, get into bed right now," Peter ordered as he pointed at the bed. "Peter…it's so boring to just lie in bed and I got the urge to paint," Neal said as he put another stroke of paint on the canvas. Peter rubbed away the headache that had formed the instant he saw Neal standing. "I don't care… get back to bed right now," the agent warned. Neal put his paint brush down and put his paints away in his box before hobbling back to bed. "This is so annoying…" Neal groaned as he got back into bed and put his foot up. "How long do I have to take it easy?" Neal asked as he picked the remote up and turned the TV on. Peter shrugged as he got the pills out for Neal. "A couple weeks most likely," he said with a smirk.

Opening his mouth to argue Neal was silenced by Peter's hand as he answered his phone, when he was done with the call Peter looked at Neal. "That was Diana, the warehouse just erupted into flames just as the agents arrived to take the treasure to the FBI evidence warehouse, that's not the worst part… the truck is gone, there was no sign of it in the wreckage," Peter said as he tossed his phone onto the couch with such force it bounced off the cushion and landed on the floor. Neal got up and hobbled over to his lover and put his arms around him. "I pray who ever took that treasure runs fast and far because you're going to find them I know it… I just wish it was me… those were the best four years of my life," Neal remarked before kissing Peter and leading him to bed.

* * *

><p>Neal walked into the office on his crutches after another long talk with his six divorce lawyers and Kyle's four lawyers. Nick and Dante looked up from their reports. "So how did it go?" they asked loud enough for everyone to look up and wonder what the outcome was of Neal's meeting. Neal smiled as he stood up straighter. "Its official Kyle and I are no longer married; he backed down finally after two months and signed the papers," Neal said as he made his way over to his desk and put his leg up on the other chair beside his desk. "Nick could you get me something to drink, you know with my crutches I can't carry anything," Neal said as he rubbed his leg a bit. "I know for a fact that you don't need those but I'll let you milk it for as long as you like but con someone else to get you things," he said to his little brother. Neal smiled and looked up at Peter's office and smiled at him. Peter smiled he knew that Neal had been successful in his meeting.<p>

Walking out of his office Peter went to Neal's desk and handed him a folder. "I know you hate it but you might see something I haven't on this mortgage fraud," Peter said as he watched Neal open the folder and gave a small smile at the love note that Peter had left him. Taking the note out Neal put it in his pocket and began to look at the file even though he knew there was nothing wrong with the case. Bored beyond anything Neal began folding paper into origami until he had at least a couple dozen swans, butterflies and flowers littering his desk. Peter walked over and saw how bored his lover looked being tied to as desk with his injury. "Come on there is no reason you have to stay here, I'll take you back to June's," Peter said as he helped Neal to his feet and walked slowly with him until they were at the car.

"El and I are going to San Francisco for the weekend. We're going to be leaving tonight, so can you handle being on your own for two days and not break any laws that could get you thrown back in prison?" Peter asked as he helped Neal into his car. Neal thought for a moment "I think I can manage to keep out of legal trouble for a couple days," Neal said before closing the door and forcing Peter to walk around the car to get behind the wheel of the car. When they got to June's Neal hopped out of the car and walked up the steps without using his crutches. "Neal! Did you lie about still being injured?" Peter asked as he rushed after Neal. "Not at all… I'm still taking it easy on my ankle," Neal explained as he smiled as he unlocked the front door and led his older lover inside and up the stairs to his apartment.

Peter was annoyed that he had been conned so easily. "Neal we're going back to work right now…" Peter said as he grabbed Neal by the arm. Neal smirked as he closed his apartment door and leaned against it. "I'm not going to move, besides if we go back now we'll have to do work… but we can stay and enjoy the view and enjoy the fact that June isn't going to be home today until eight and right now it's only nine in the morning," Neal said as he grabbed Peter's tie and pulled him against his body and kissed him passionately. Peter smirked into the kiss and pulled Neal as close as he could. When air became necessary Neal pulled away and put his head against his door. After catching his breath Neal smirked and held Peter's tie up showing that he had managed to remove Peter's tie without him noticing. "Give it back Neal… we're going back to work right now," Peter said as he put his hands on door beside Neal's head.

Ducking under Peter's arm Neal lightly limped over to his bed and leaned back on his hands in seductive way. "Come on Peter it's good to skip work every now and then, besides it's been a really slow day so far," Neal said with a laugh. "Neal it's only nine in the morning of course the day is going to start off slow…now give me back my tie I'm going back to work," Peter said as he walked over to Neal and held his hand out. "Peter, can I ask you something?" Neal asked being serious for a moment. "Yeah Neal, what's up?" Peter asked as he sat down on the bed. Neal looked at Peter and kept from looking into his eyes. "I…I…wanted to know… you know what forget it, it's not really important so here is your tie," Neal said as he handed the tie back. Peter pulled his tie out of Neal's hand and threw it on the floor before turning to Neal and put his hand on Neal's chin and forced him to look up. "I said forget it Peter… I don't want to talk about it anymore," Neal said as he pulled away from Peter and started to get up from the bed.

Grabbing Neal by the arm Peter pulled him back with such force that Neal fell back against his bed flat on his back. Moving quickly Peter climbed over Neal and pinned his arms down over his head. "I'm not letting you up until you tell me what you were going to ask me in the first place, Peter said as he tightened his grip on Neal's wrists and kept him pinned down. Neal looked up for a moment before turning his head away. "It's a stupid question that will just complicate things between us and I don't want that to happen ever again," Neal said as he kept his gaze turned away from the agent straddling his waist. "Just ask the damn question Neal, I promise I won't get upset no matter how stupid the question is," Peter promised as he slowly released Neal's wrists. Neal pondered for a moment trying to find the right wording for his question. After a minute Neal sighed and closed his eyes as he spoke.

"I have two questions actually, my first is, I know you say you love me and you may mean it but I wanted to know… after my four years are up I'll be free from the anklet, does that mean that our relationship will end?" Neal asked as he watched Peter's face. "My second question is; what am I to you?" Peter sat up quickly and nearly fell off the bed as he tried to figure out how to answer the questions. "Neal you are so important me, and after you're anklet will been taken off we're still going to be together I'm not going to leave you just because you aren't FBI property anymore. It doesn't mean I won't love you any less, as for what you are to me, you're Neal…my treasure and I love you," Peter said softly.

Neal swallowed the lump in his throat as he turned his head away and felt his eyes water up at the passing thought of what he wanted most out of life. It only took Peter a second to notice Neal's change in his demeanor. "Neal what's wrong?" he asked as he leaned over and looked into Neal's eyes searching for the truth. Neal looked at Peter and watched him every little twitch of his facial muscles as he looked at Neal in worry. His chest tightened to the point his ribs ached. "How can you do this to me? I'm the one who is supposed to be the charmer…but you always make my chest tighten when you look at me like that, I've never felt this way with Gabe or Kate, I know it sounds selfish but I want you…not just today but every day I want to go to bed at night beside you and wake up in the morning before the sun rise and watch you sleep. I would suffer eternal boredom at a baseball stadium so you could be happy, after the game I would cook you dinner and wash it down with beer or expensive wine. During the week I would make you deviled ham for work even though I despise it. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I love you too… and it's getting to the point where I don't want to share you anymore," Neal admitted his cheeks turning red from embarrassment.

Getting to his feet slowly Peter found his tie and slowly put it back on. "Neal…you know that I'm married…not to mention that if the FBI found out we were together you would go back to prison and I would be either demoted or worse fired," Peter said as he tried to let Neal down from his fantasy life carefully. Neal nodded as he sat up slowly, "I know… I'm going to stay here; I kind of want to be alone right now…" Neal said as he climbed fully on his bed and rolled away from Peter. Watching his young lover Peter petted his shoulder softly. "I'll see you when I get back Monday stay out of trouble I don't want to fly back Saturday night to bail you out of prison," Peter said as he tried to kiss Neal goodbye only to get the cold shoulder. Sighing Peter left the bedroom area and went to the kitchen drawers and grabbed the cooking knives and the couple steak knives in the drawer before leaving the apartment.

* * *

><p>As he left Peter stored the knives in his trunk and went back to work and doubled timed it to finish his backed up paperwork so he could leave early and catch his afternoon flight. Just as he was about to start on another file Peter looked up when Nick knocked on his door. "My brother just called and told me you stole his knives; care to explain your odd robbery?" Nick asked with a smile. Peter sighed and motioned for Nick to shut the door and come in. "Your brother just told me that he is so in love with me but that he doesn't want to share me with Elizabeth anymore and when I told him that it couldn't happen he gave me the cold shoulder and I was worried we would have a repeat of what happened in prison so I took his knives since June isn't home right now," Peter said as Nick sat down.<p>

"Well then, thank you… I don't want to lose my brother to his own whirlwind emotions, what Kate did to him once she got her claws in him really screwed him up. You're good for him, especially after everything he's gone through from Kate's death to his relationship with Kyle. Neal needs stability and you give that to him, so now he's acting selfish because he's afraid to lose you after his four years are up, so before I go I'll just say one more thing, you spend a lot of time with Neal at work, stake outs and on your dates, so I hope you think this all over while you're gone this weekend. Well, I have to get going lunch with Cat you know," Nick said as he left Peter's office.

Peter sighed and pulled his cell phone out and dialed Neal's number before hitting send, after two rings he was transferred to Neal's voice mail. Sighing he hung his phone up and dropped his phone on his desk. _ He ignored my call… I guess I will talk to him Monday morning when I pick him up for work. _ He thought as he got back to work. Twenty minutes later Peter picked his phone up again and dialed his wife's number and waited for her to answer. "Hey hon… I was just about to call you my sister wanted to know if you wanted to know if we were leaving before three today or not." Elizabeth asked as she finished typing up a wedding plan for her workers to follow while she was gone. Peter thought for a moment, "I can be done before three today so I will pick you up at work in twenty minutes," Peter said as he started to shut down his files on his computer before grabbing his coat and getting ready to leave.

Elizabeth smiled, "I'll call her and tell her we're on our way, so how did Neal take it that we're going away for the weekend?" she asked as she started to write an email to her sister. Peter paused for a moment. "We need to talk about Neal on the flight…I need help dealing with him," Peter said as he left his office and waved goodbye to everyone as he entered the elevator. Elizabeth sighed softly, "What's he done now?"She asked worried that Neal had done something illegal again. "He hasn't done anything…yet, it's more like what he wants," Peter remarked as he looked at his reflection in the elevator door hoping he could spare the long talk for later. "Well what does he want?" Elizabeth asked as she packed her laptop into her briefcase.

Taking a moment Peter thought for a moment before speaking. "He wants something he can't have…something we need to talk about this weekend when we get a chance," he said hoping his wife would be able to understand what he was trying to say. "All right then, we'll talk this weekend about how Neal wants you all to himself," she said with a smile. Peter gaped for a moment that his wife knew that Neal wanted him all to himself. "You two make a good couple… if you want to be with him then I won't stand in your way, but if you want to talk about this more this weekend we can," she said very understandingly before hanging up. Peter shook his head with a small smile before pocketing his phone.

* * *

><p>Neal groaned as he rolled onto his back and looked at the ceiling. Grabbing his phone off his bed Neal felt tempted to call Peter to hear his voice before he left on his trip. After realizing it sounded like he was obsessed with Peter, Neal put his phone away and slowly got up from his bed. As he walked toward his hallway that led to his bathroom he heard a knock on the door. Cautious at first Neal walked over to the door and opened it slowly. "Alex…what are you doing here?" Neal asked as he opened the door more and let her into his apartment. It didn't take Neal very long to realize that Alex was carrying a bottle of wine. "What's the wine for?" he asked as he closed the apartment door.<p>

"I thought we could celebrate, and I wanted to apologize for just disappearing two months ago I had… things going on," Alex said as she put the bottle on the table and grabbed a couple glasses. Neal stood there for a moment. "Uh, can I ask what are we celebrating?" Neal asked in a perplexed tone as he took the wine from Alex and pulled a corkscrew out of his utensil drawer, laughing softly Alex took the bottle to moment the cork popped out of the bottle's neck. "We're celebrating being alive after our ordeal and your new status as being no longer married to that creep Kyle," she said as she poured two glasses of wine. Neal smiled and took the glass offered to him and held it up and looked at it and swirled the wine in the glass and sniffed it before trying it.

Alex smiled "There is also another reason I came here today, I wanted to give you this key," Alex said as she pulled a key on a chain from around her neck. "Think of this as gift for all the hard work you did to get it and payment for your suffering," she said handing the chain over. Neal looked at the key then over at Alex. "Before you hurt yourself trying to figure this out, this is a key to a storage locker within your radius with some of the greatest treasure that hasn't been seen since the Second World War," Alex said with a smile. Neal looked at the key in his hand and closed his fingers around it.

Looking at his hand Neal opened it and put the key around his neck. "So you're the one who stole the treasure, I had a feeling you did it but I never said anything," he stated as he sipped his wine. Alex smiled and worked on her glass of wine. "So what do you plan on doing with the treasure now that it's all yours?" she asked curiously. "I'll hold onto it for now for a rainy day just in case I need some money for a quick getaway. If Peter found out I had it he might think I stole it," he commented with a smile. Alex laughed softly as she finished her glass of wine and poured herself another glass. Neal chuckled and finished off his glass then poured another. "You know I should take it easy with the wine but it's been a while since I have had a good drink," he commented with a smile.

By the end of the first bottle Neal abandoned his wine glass and grabbed a new bottle from his selection and opened it before drinking right out of the bottle. Alex had moved from the table to Neal's bed. "Neal your bed is so comfortable…come join me…" she called waving him over. Neal walked over to his bed and kept the bottle from tipping over as he climbed onto his bed. Laughing at Neal's stumbling Alex sat up and took the wine from him and took a long swig. "Do you want to know something…? I'm not wearing anything under this dress," Alex said with smirk.

Quirking his eye brow Neal looked Alex over before taking the wine bottle from her and finishing it off. "I should go… put this in the kitchen…" he mumbled as he tried to get off the bed only to be pulled back onto the bed. "Don't worry you don't have to tell Peter, it could be our little secret," Alex whispered as she put her finger to her lips. Neal smirked and leaned back against his pillows. "Did you come here with a purpose?" Neal asked trying to think clearly through his hazy mind. Alex smiled as she crawled up and put her arms around Neal and kissed him. Not thinking of any repercussions Neal kissed back.

Running his hands up Alex's sides Neal slowly undid the zipper on the back of Alex's dress. Sitting up Alex undid Neal's shirt and smirked at him. "I've always loved this tattoo it makes you look very sexy," she said with a smile. Neal smirked "Yeah… I was going to take it off but it grew on me," he commented as he held back the urge to say that Peter also enjoyed it. Removing his shirt and throwing aside Neal rolled over and pinned Alex against his bed. "I thought you were gay?" Alex asked pushing a strand of hair off of her face. "I'm Bi; there is a huge difference you know…" Neal corrected as he leaned over and kissed her neck.

As soon as the dress was off Neal looked Alex over and smirked. "You still have that scar from Russia…you know it makes you look very rugged," Neal remarked as he ran his fingers over the faint scar on Alex's shoulder. "I don't have anything planned this weekend maybe I should stick around, it's been a while since we've spent time together," she said with a smirk.

* * *

><p>By Sunday night Neal fell onto his freshly laundered bedding alone, he used the excuse that he had work in the morning and he needed his sleep. Sighing loudly Neal listened to the rain pattering against the glass doors. On the verge of sleep Neal heard his cell phone buzzing on the nightstand. Grabbing his phone he connected the call without looking at the caller ID. "Hey Peter…" Neal said with a smile as the feelings on loneliness began to build in his chest.<p>

"Nope, sorry babe… it's just me, so how is life do you miss me yet?" Kyle asked with a chuckle. Neal shivered as he sat up. "How did you get this number I changed it after our divorce," Neal remarked as he got off of his bed and walked toward the fridge. "Oh now Neal you know that I have connections, and might I say, you are looking good, I can't even tell that your cheek was broken in two places. Neal froze and looked at the windows and the dark skyline. Kyle laughed over the phone "Now don't be so scared babe, I forgive you for divorcing me and I'll take you back," Kyle said a heavy smirk in his voice. "You're never going to get away from me ever, I've been watching your every move you've made," he added.

Soon the apartment was peppered with gunfire. Neal screamed and sat up in bed; looking around the dark apartment he realized he had a nightmare again. Breathing heavy Neal looked around the dark apartment and found he was alone in the apartment, rubbing his eyes hard to remove the remnants of the nightmare from his memories. Looking at the clock on his phone Neal groaned at how early in the morning it was. Falling back against his pillow Neal let his eyes adjust to the light of his cell phone screen as he typed out a lengthy text message to Peter about his nightmare. After waiting two minutes he got a response from Peter saying he would come over right away. Getting out of bed slowly Neal walked around his apartment turning a couple lights on.

When Peter arrived Neal was on the verge of falling asleep. "You look tired, you should get back to sleep," Peter said as he led Neal back to his bed and made him lie down. "You didn't have to come over Peter, I know you just got back from your trip today and-" Neal was cut off by Peter's hand over his mouth. "It's okay, did you really expect me to stay home after you told me you had a nightmare of Kyle gunning you down, I told El about it as she insisted that I come and make sure you were alright, and I missed not seeing you this weekend," Peter remarked as he propped himself up beside Neal.

Neal smiled. "So how was your trip anyway did you have fun?" he asked hoping that his confession Friday morning didn't ruin anything between them. "Do you really care about the trip?" he asked as he watched Neal crawl closer and put his arm over his chest. Neal shook his head and put his head on Peter's chest. "Well I'll tell you the truth, I told El what you said and we talked about the future for the three of us. And we decided that it's my choice in the end of who I want to choose," Peter said as he looked down and found Neal had fallen asleep.

As the sun broke over the city Neal rolled over and found his bed empty. Thinking that it had been a dream that Peter had come to him in the night and giving a soft sigh Neal sat up and slowly got out of bed and came face to face with Peter and a plate of eggs and toast. "I called in and said we would be a little late, I wanted you to get some more sleep and get a good breakfast," he said as he sat Neal at the table so he could eat. "This just what I wanted from you, I just wish you had stayed in bed with me so I could hold you longer," Neal remarked as he started eating. Peter sat across from Neal and looked at him. "What do you remember about last night?" Peter asked calmly. "I remember the nightmare and you coming over and then you said something but I started to fall asleep so can you tell me again?" he asked with a smile.

Rolling his eyes Peter grabbed a slice of toast from Neal's plate. "I told you that I spoke to El about you, me, her and the future. She said that it was my decision in the end, and before you ask, no I haven't decided yet on what I want to do," he said as he got up from the table and headed for the apartment door. "I have a suit in the car I'll get it to change before we go," Peter said before leaving the apartment and coming back in a minute Peter found Neal outside looking at the city skyline with a cup of coffee in his hands. "I'm going to shower before we go," Peter called as he headed for the back hall. Smirking Neal walked back inside and left his coffee on the table. "I'll join you," Neal said with a smirk as he followed behind Peter.


	9. Consort

**(( Here is chapter 8 and I hope people like it, I am working on chapter 9 as we speak and the first chapter to the next series that everyone said I should do I don't have a title yet all I know is the series will be called Risking It All so hopefully when I post chapter nine I will have a title for the next story and chapter so please read and review and thanks Peppe for betaing again and everyone enjoy))  
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**Chapter 8: Consort**

Peter stopped dead in his tracks and looked at Neal. "Stay right here, we don't have time to be any later then we already are," Peter argued as he pointed at the chair closest to them. Neal smiled and walked past Peter and made his way down the hallway. "The shower is big enough for the both of us and it will save more time if we both take a shower together… I promise I'll keep my hands to myself as much as possible, but then again I don't know if you can keep your hands off me," Neal remarked with a slight swish of the hips as he sauntered down the hallway to the bathroom. Before he could stop himself Peter followed his partner down the hall and into the bathroom. Pushing the bathroom door open Peter saw Neal's silk pajamas on the floor and the shower on. "I'll just let you shower first," Peter said as wrapped his hand on the door handle. Neal opened the glass frosted glass door just to show enough skin, poking his head out of the shower Neal smirked, his hair was sticking to the side of his face and the droplets of water running down his neck and his chest. "Just get in the shower… your making us late," he said as he grabbed Peter's arm and pulled him into the shower fully clothed.

Neal smirked watched as Peter frowned at him before letting his frown slip away and be replaced by a smirk. "Twenty minutes, then we go to work," Peter said as grabbed Neal by the back of his neck and pulled him into a wet kiss as the water pelted them. Grabbing Peter's wet shirt Neal gave a soft moan as he slipped his arms around Peter's neck and pulled him closer. _ Maybe I can convince Peter that I'm the one he should be with…he's done everything I wanted from him so he has to pick me… _ Neal thought as his train of thought crashed when he felt Peter's hand slide down his back. Neal let out small yelp when his back touched the cold stone wall of the shower stall. Pulling away for air Neal put his head back against the stone wall. Peter used his free hand to push dripping wet hair off Neal's forehead. "I'm getting out I'm starting to get cold, besides I need to change," he said as he got out of the shower and began to strip out of his wet clothes. Neal turned the water off and climbed out of the shower in all his glory. "You owe me a long night of makeup sex for cutting that short," he remarked as he grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist tightly.

Leaving the bathroom Neal walked into his walk in closet and looked over his entire collection of suits and hats trying to come up with a perfect match. After dressing Neal walked out into his apartment to find Peter also dressed in a fresh suit with his hair still wet. "Shouldn't we get to work now?" Neal asked as he grabbed his coffee and sipped it before grimacing at the cold coffee. He dumped the coffee out and washed the cup before placing it in the drying rack and then walking over to the door Neal looked around his apartment once more to make sure he didn't forget anything before leaving for the day. Plopping his hat on his head Neal smirked and followed Peter out of his place and down the stairs to the car. "So what kind of cases do you think we'll get this week?" Neal asked as he grabbed Peter's hand lightly as they walked down the stairs.

"I'm not sure but I'm still looking into that missing treasure, do you have any ideas who could have taken it?" he asked as he pulled Neal closer. Neal plastered a fake smile on his face as he thought of the key hanging around his neck. "I don't have a clue where it could be or who stole it Peter… I mean the FBI searched the warehouse and Adler was nowhere to be found maybe he was hiding and he took off with the treasure," Neal remarked trying to keep Peter's mind on one specific person. "Maybe your right…now I have to ask but did you steal it Neal or ask someone to do it for you?" Peter asked as he looked at his lover. Neal stopped and looked at the other man. "Peter I was with you the whole time how could I get anyone to do it for me?" Neal asked in an accusing tone. Peter huffed "I was just asking there is no need to get upset, now there is only one more person I can think of… Do you know where Alex was during the time of the hijacking?" Peter asked trying to fish for information. Neal shrugged his shoulders. "Not a clue, in fact I don't even know where she is right now; she did stop by for the weekend and then took off last night," Neal admitted not going into detail.

* * *

><p>Quirking his eyebrow a bit Peter followed Neal outside and stopped by his car. "So do I want to know what you two did over the weekend?" he mused as he got behind the wheel of the car. Neal climbed in and smiled. "Nothing much we were just celebrating my divorce and… Peter if I tell you something can you promise not to go to anyone about this, can we keep it between the two of us?" Neal asked as tested the waters before telling Peter everything. "Maybe I better show you… just go to the small set of warehouses six blocks from here just before the highway on ramp," Neal said trying to calm his nerves. Not ready to question anything Peter drove to the address Neal gave him and parked his car out front.<p>

Taking a deep breath Neal led Peter into the building and down the small hallway to a lone door. Pulling the chain over his head Neal looked at Peter and bit his lip a bit. "When I open this door I'm letting you in on a secret that you can't tell anyone or it could land me back in prison, I don't want to go back Peter…" Neal said softly as he wrapped his hand around the door handle. Peter reached forward and wrapped his hand around Neal's hand and looked into his eyes. "Neal… I wouldn't even think of sending you back," he said softly as he moved a step back and let Neal open the door and turn on the lights. As they entered the room Peter felt his eyes go wide at the sight before him. Peter walked past Neal and stood in the middle of the treasure and turned around to look at everything.

"This is the Nazi treasure that went missing isn't it?" he asked as he moved closer and began to look over every work of art and priceless object. Neal closed the door behind him before walking over to Peter and standing beside him. "Before when you asked me about the treasure I lied… on Friday after you left Alex came over and gave me the key to this place and the next day we came here together and unpacked everything at set it up and viewed it for hours before going back to my place. Peter I know you're going to say I have to return this but can I keep it for a little while? This is the biggest score ever and trust me it's safer here than anywhere else," Neal said as he argued his case. Peter looked around once more. "You can keep it… for now but you know when I ask you, you have to give it up Neal," he said as he walked over to the paintings that had been set up like a small art gallery.

Moving over to the paintings Neal smiled as he gave Peter a peck on the cheek. "Thanks Peter… now we should get to work; I've made us late as is," Neal remarked as he watched Peter turn around and look at him. "It's amazing in here, I almost don't want to leave but I know we have to," Peter replied with a smile before leading Neal out of the large warehouse and waited as Neal locked the door and put the key around his neck again. As they left Neal looked over his shoulder once more at the building before getting into the car. Peter slowly drove to the FBI office and parked his car. Neal began to whistle as he walked into the elevator with Peter. When the elevator stopped on the sixth floor letting seven people on Neal stepped back to make room for the others he was sly enough to move so he was pressed up against Peter. Mumbling an apology so the others wouldn't be curious Neal gave an inner smirk as he shifted his weight a bit from one leg to the other so he rubbed against Peter.

Peter bit hit tongue hard to keep from making any noise as Neal teased him. When the car stopped on their floor Neal pretended to sneeze loud enough to make everyone jump and scare Peter enough to make him less hot and bothered. They left the elevator and walked into the office. "You really were pushing it in there, don't do that again…" Peter warned under his breath. Neal smirked, "I felt your hand on my thigh so I was just retaliating… all's fair in love and war Peter," Neal quoted before going to his desk and taking a seat. Peter shook his head as he walked by and went to his office. Grabbing the stack of files he walked into the conference room and put the files down. As he walked out Peter looked around the bullpen and found that he was watching Neal closely. "I want everyone in the conference room in one minute we have a lot to talk about this morning," he said before returning to the room.

* * *

><p>Nick and Dante looked at each other before getting up and heading for Neal's desk. "We have to head out for a while so take good notes for us," Nick remarked as he walked out of the office with his cousin. Neal got up from his seat and followed the agents into the conference room. Moving quickly he snatched a seat by Peter and leaned back in his seat. "I'm sorry to say that we don't have much this week, just the usual copyright infringement, mortgage fraud and forgeries. I also regret to inform everyone that there is no news on the missing treasure whoever stole it is in the wind and with something this hot we might never see it for a long time, but the case will remain open for now," Peter said avoiding the urge to look at Neal. "Vincent Adler is still on the loose, his son Kyle was arrested and is now sitting in prison but he won't give up his father's location," Peter announced as he filled everyone in. Neal slowly let his mind begin to drift to other topics. Half an hour later Neal had taken to doodling on his note book, as he started to turn the page he felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket. Pulling it out he looked at the message and looked up into the bullpen.<p>

"I don't believe it," Neal said interrupting Peter's presentation. Getting up from his seat Neal walked around the table and left the conference room. Neal walked down the stairs and over to the group that arrived. The agents were curious with the ex con's outburst and departure. Following Neal out of the conference room with everyone watching him, Peter watched his partner closely. Neal ignored everyone who was watching as he started to talk to the group in Japanese. Peter walked over to Neal and stood beside him. "So care to introduce us?" he asked. "Oh right, sorry, this is Kame, Aki, Jin, Hiro and Keido, their friends of mine from when I lived in Japan," Neal replied as he pointed everyone out. "Kore wa bākudearu, pītā to kare wa watashi no yūjin to watashi no bosudearu,"(1) Neal explained to his friends.

Kame smirked as he walked forward. "Nikku wa kare ga bōifurendo anata to nobeta"(2) he remarked with a wide smirk that rivaled Neal's. "Hai, kare wa"(3) Neal replied with an equally crafty smirk. Peter felt lost in the language barrier. Neal looked at Peter "I'm going to take them out to lunch why don't you join us?" he asked with a smile. Peter shook his head "I would be intruding…" Peter said even though he was very curious to learn about Neal's friends. Grabbing Peter's hand Neal pulled him closer. "Just have some fun with us, Watashi-tachi wa chūshoku ni suru hōhō nitsuite o iku?" Neal asked turning to the group. "Hai" they all said at once with a smile. Peter let himself be dragged into the elevator by Neal. After getting downstairs to the waiting limo Neal gave the driver the address of a nearby Irish-American restaurant and bar, when they arrived at the restaurant everyone walked into the nearly empty restaurant and found a bunch of tables to push together.

Once everyone was seated Kame looked at Peter "Be good to Niru, he is a brother to us," Kame said his English sounding better than the last time Neal had spoken to him on the phone. Peter nodded his head before he looked at Neal and gave him a small smile. In the back of his mind Peter thought about the treasure squirreled away in the warehouse sitting in the dark hidden under everyone's nose. _ I lied about the treasure…for what…to pull Adler out of hiding… no it's to protect Neal,_ _or is it to protect both of us? If the FBI found out I knew about the treasure it could mean my job… do I really want to risk that for him?_ Peter thought as Neal gave him a slight jab in the ribs when the waitress was handing him a menu. Neal looked at Peter with a worried look on his face. He could tell that something was bothering him.

Peter ordered his drink before excusing himself for some air. Neal excused himself and followed behind Peter. "Hey… you okay?" Neal asked as he walked up behind Peter. "No… I'm not okay; I lied to the FBI for you and not about something simple like letting you taking over undercover and saying that I agreed to it before hand, this is serious Neal…it's a lost treasure that I've let you keep when I should have made you give it up right away. I don't know what got into me. The worst part of this is if I tell Hughes that I lied, it's going to come back on me not you so now I have to keep lying to them every minute of every day until you decide to give it up. It would have been better if you never showed it to me, maybe you would care to explain why you did it?" Peter asked as he vented a bit.

Neal smiled as he tried to calm Peter's nerves. "I didn't want to hide anything from you anymore, why do you think I showed you the treasure or invited you to lunch…I don't want to keep you in the dark anymore. I know everyone in my family will say that I'm crazy for letting you in so deeply but…to tell you the truth Peter I love you too much to lie to you anymore," Neal admitted as he looked down at the ground. Peter was stunned by Neal's declaration of love. He felt the weight beginning to lift off his chest slightly. "Neal… you are the strangest person I've ever met, you're a con artist who's supposed to keep secrets from me but instead you have brought me to your family home and told me things that you wouldn't tell anyone else," Peter remarked as he smiled a bit. "Love can make you do strange things," Neal said with a smile. "Let's get back inside," Neal said as he grabbed Peter's hand and dragging him back inside the restaurant.

* * *

><p>As lunch ended Peter looked at his watch. "We should head back to work Neal our lunch break is over," Peter said as he stood up. Neal pouted "Peter I haven't seen them in almost six years can I stay a little longer?" Neal asked with a smile. Peter nodded, "I'll give you one more hour then come back and try to be sober all right," Peter said as he ruffled Neal's hair a bit. Neal smiled as he went back to his drink. As he walked out of the restaurant Peter checked the time on his watch before walking back to the office. Standing outside the office building Peter sighed and went inside and rode the elevator up to the White Collar division.<p>

When Neal returned to the office Peter looked up from his desk and saw his partner strolling through the bullpen on his way to his office. "Peter, about our plans tonight we're going to have to reschedule, the guys invited me to their hotel to spend some time together. Could drop me off before heading home?" Neal asked as he sat down across from Peter. "Yeah I'll drop you off after work; so you were in Japan for those seven missing years…care to fill me in on what you did for all those years or will it just upset me?" Peter asked. Neal smiled and leaned back a bit.

"Oh you'll find out soon enough Peter, but I'm not lying to you it's just a surprise," Neal remarked with a smile. "I should get back to work, I'll see you later Peter," Neal said with a smile as he got up and left Peter's office. Walking down the stairs Neal made his way to his desk and began to look the folders over that he had been assigned. After looking the first case over Neal began to type up his report, halfway through his report Neal looked up when he felt like he was being watched. Standing before him was the new mail boy that had taken over when Kyle had been arrested. After taking his mail from the new guy Neal looked at the box in front of him and grabbing his pen knife he opened the box, and jumped up his chair toppling over in the process.

Everyone jumped at the sound of the chair crashing against the floor. Peter moved out of his office swiftly and walked through the ring of agents to Neal's desk. Glancing in the box Peter froze, inside the box was a dead rat wearing a suit and fedora made out of newspaper; "Get rid of that thing," Peter ordered as he pushed the flap down and noticed there was no return address. Turning around Peter waved everyone off before he went over to check on Neal. "I'll get to the bottom of this and I will stop it," Peter promised as he went to Neal's desk and grabbed the phone and dialed the number for the prison and waited.

Neal walked around his desk and made his way over to the coffee area to find something to calm his nerves. As he looked at the coffee pot Neal heard Peter begin to yell into the phone at the prison warden. "I don't care what you say, just keep that scumbag away from the mail; he's harassing his ex and there is a restraining order against any forms of contact," Peter yelled his voice cracking a bit. After a minute Peter hung up the phone and walked across the bull pen quickly until he was standing before Neal. Neal stood there a cup of tea in his hands that Diana had made him. "Well according to the warden Kyle hasn't had any mail privileges in three weeks. Not after he threatened his lawyer through the mail," he said informing the others.

Diana stood there and looked at Peter. "So if Kyle didn't send it then who did?" she asked looking over at Neal. Neal nursed the cup in his hands; he could feel the heat begin to blister his palms. Ignoring the pain Neal stood there and watched the steam rise from the liquid. Gripping the cup tighter Neal continued to ignore the heat burning his skin. Peter looked at the cup that held Neal's interest more than the conversation and saw that Neal's hands were red. Pulling the cup from Neal's hands Peter put it on the counter and walked Neal out of the office and into the bathroom. Putting Neal's hands under the faucet he turned the cold tap on and let it run for a few seconds. "I know you know something Neal… just tell me so I can protect you, remember no more lying," Peter reminded as he turned the water off. Neal looked down at his still wet hands.

Sinking to his knees Neal let go of his strength, Peter reacted quickly to keep Neal from hitting his head on the edge of the sink. Using his hand as a cushion Peter kept the younger man's head propped up. "You're starting to scare me Neal…just tell me what's going on," he said calmly. Neal looked up into Peter's eyes and sighed loudly. "It's got to be Keller if it's not Kyle, this has his sick handy work all over it…there might not even be any threat behind it just a calling card to remind everyone he's still around…" Neal said softly. Peter helped Neal to his feet and looked at him. "Either way I'm not leaving you alone tonight, you can go to the hotel but I'm going to be there with you to keep you safe," Peter said as he rested his forehead against Neal's and smiled.

"You're my hero Peter Burke…" Neal said as he smiled and put his arms around Peter and hugged him close enough to kiss him. Peter put his forehead against Neal's and held him until he was sure Neal was calm. Once they left the bathroom Peter watched Neal closely as the day progressed. An hour before quitting time Diana walked into Peter's office. "I made a couple calls about the package and if it could be connected to Keller; take a look at this," Diana said as she handed a few photos over to her boss from prison surveillance cameras. Looking at the photos Peter put his hand against his mouth. "So looks like Kyle made a new friend in prison…call the warden and tell him to keep an eye on those two," he ordered as he looked back at the picture of Kyle Grant and Matthew Keller chatting as if they were old friends in the top picture. Putting the pictures in his bottom desk drawer Peter locked it and put the key away in his top drawer.

Peter looked at his former probie, "I want this kept between the two of us for now. I don't need Neal finding out his ex-husband and his ex-partner- are all buddy-buddy with each other. He's scared enough with the dead rat today," Peter said as he kept his voice down. Diana nodded and left the office and went back to her desk. Neal twirled a pen between his fingers as he doodled on his notebook. He looked up and saw that Peter was alone again; glancing at the clock on his computer he saw that it was almost time to call it a day. Walking out of his office Peter stopped at Neal's desk and waited for him to get his coat and hat.

When they were ready they said their goodbyes to the agents staying late. Neal resisted the urge to wrap his arm around Peter's waist and hold him close. Neal smirked when they got into the car, Peter started up the car and turned the radio to the sports channel and waited to pull into traffic. "We're going to the Trump International Hotel and Tower. Nick got the guys a real great room," Neal remarked as he kept his hands busy with twirling his hat a bit. "You've been invited to stay the night too, Kame and the others are curious about you," he added with a smile. Peter pulled out into traffic and made his way through the city.

* * *

><p>Peter pulled up in front of the hotel and handed his keys to the valet and walked inside with Neal. Neal walked up to the desk and found the room number he needed. Walking to the elevators Neal pressed the button to call a car, after getting in and pressing the seventeenth floor button Neal leaned against the railing and looked at Peter. When the door chimed Neal pulled Peter out and down the hall to the room and knocked on the door. Peter looked around the hotel room the room was very over the top. <em> Of course Neal has friends who can afford a hotel like this a two bedroom suite with a view to kill for, it surprises me that Neal could lower himself to someone like me when he could have someone more into his tastes.<em> Peter thought as he and Neal sat on the couch. Once again Peter found that he was watching Neal as he talked and laughed with his friends in Japanese at jokes and stories of the years he missed. After an hour Neal began telling the others about working for the FBI, Peter guessed, he heard his name a few times and the other agents.

Soon the stories move from the normal everyday cases into some of the undercover work he did or so Peter assumed until Neal mentioned a name that Peter hadn't heard in a long time come from Neal's lips. "Korin Traux wa, sū-kagetsu no tame no dorei toshite watashi o hoji shi, sore wa osoroshii kotodeshita... Gyakutai shikashi pītā wa watashi o akirameta koto wanaito kare wa sono jinsei kara watashi o sukutta,"(4) Neal said as he lowered his eyes a bit. Slipping his arm around Neal Peter pulled him close and let him put his head on his shoulder. Neal smiled and looked at his friends. He could tell by the smiles on their faces that they were there for him and they accepted Peter as a great protector.

Kame stood up and walked across the room and stood before Peter and looked at him. "In all years I know Niru I never saw him so happy, we all agree you are good for him," Kame said before bowing to Peter. Bowing his head in return Peter looked at Neal and saw him smiling. Sitting up Neal looked at his friends "You guys look tired the jet lag must be hitting you by now along with the time change. You know what I'll see you in the morning, I'll actually be right back," Neal said as he left the room. Twenty minutes later Neal returned to the hotel room with a smirk on his face as he held up two key cards. "Come on Peter, let's let Kame and the others get some sleep I have something special for tonight," Neal said with a smirk. Saying their goodnights Peter looked at Neal and the two key cards he was holding.

"Neal what are you doing with those key cards?" Peter asked as he grabbed them out of Neal's hand to see if they were real. His smirk growing wider Neal led Peter two doors down from the room they left. Taking one of the cards from Peter Neal opened the door and turned the lights on. "I used my credit card. Neal Caffrey can't afford this room right now but Neal Grant can, I kept the one card Kyle allowed me to have open and after our divorce I cleaned him out of one point two million dollars for my suffering at his hand, so I got us a room for the night…to celebrate," Neal said as he walked through the foyer and into the bedroom. Peter quirked his eyebrow as he followed behind Neal "What's so special about today?" he asked trying to remember what the date meant to his lover. "You really don't remember… today was the day you and I first met face to face outside the bank and I gave you that lollypop, so I thought it would be fitting that we celebrate together in one of the most expensive hotels with an amazing view of the park and the city skyline," Neal said as he began to strip off his coat and tie.

Reaching in front of him Peter took hold of Neal's hands and stopped him from undoing his tie. At first Neal thought his plans were being shot down until Peter pushed his hands down and started to undo his tie for him. "Let me…"Peter said softly as he managed to undo the knot and pull the tie from around Neal's neck. "If someone asked you all those years ago that almost six years down the road if you thought you would be undressing the same con you chased for four years what would you say to them?" Neal asked breathily. Thinking for a moment Peter stepped back to look at Neal. "I would have said they were crazy… because I would have done it in six minutes had you not slipped through my fingers so many times," he replied as he began to undo the top few buttons of Neal's fitted shirt. Neal felt his cheeks blaze red at the thought of all the near misses he and Peter had during the years Peter chased him. "Want to know a secret… if you told me your intentions Agent Burke I would have let you do anything you wanted to me," Neal whispered as he moved them closer to the bed blindly.

The moment the back on his legs hit the bed Neal heard the chime of Peter's cell phone. Neal groaned and sat on the bed in a huff and began to pout. Peter pulled his phone out and backed out of the bedroom area. "Stay right there and don't undress… I want to finish what I started," Peter said as he walked back into the foyer. Neal felt the heat from before rush through his body. Perched on the bed like a statue he waited as Peter talked to his agent. "Okay… thank you Diana, I'll call him tomorrow when I get to the office… good night," Peter said before hanging up. Walking back into the bedroom Peter looked at the sight before him of Neal waiting for him on the edge of the bed. The view behind Neal was easily the most breathtaking that Peter had ever seen.

Looking at Neal sitting before him Peter just stood there and watched him. _The view behind him, this room it all screams Neal, this is who Neal is… expensive views, silk sheets and money…I can't provide him this lifestyle and yet he says he wants to be with me, I just don't understand him._ Peter thought as he moved closer to Neal and stood over him. Neal looked at Peter with a worried look in his eyes. Before he was able to open his mouth Peter's lips descended on his and turned his mind to Jello and his spine to butter. Neal was sure that the only thing keeping him up was his lips connected to the other man's. When they pulled apart Neal felt light headed from the lack of air. Shivering slightly from the cool air on his body Neal looked down and found his shirt, shoes socks and pants gone. It was a warm day so he had forgone his usual undershirt and boxers that day to keep cool.

Neal tried to search his memory for Peter being able to remove his clothes but nothing came. "You're getting too good at turning my mind into a fog I don't even remember you taking my clothes off during that kiss," Neal remarked as he caught his breath. Peter smirked as he removed his jacket, tie and shirt. Being a famous art forger and thief Neal never expected anyone to steal his heart like Peter had, reaching up he grabbed Peter's hand and pulled it close. Closing his eyes softly Neal placed a single kiss on the palm of Peter's hand before letting his hand go. "You have no idea how badly I want you right now," Neal whispered as he leaned back. Before his back touched the bed Peter was on top of him in such a passionate kiss that Neal was struggling to remember the most basic function of living.

Threading his fingers into Peter's hair Neal pulled Peter off his lips and moved him to his neck. Not one to admit any weakness Neal never talked about his bedroom fetishes. It was no secret to anyone that Neal only let himself be dominated by one person, the other small fetish he had was he got off on being bitten on the neck and shoulder by said person. Peter smirked he knew what his lover wanted from him. Biting down hard Peter smirked when he heard Neal let out the loudest moan he had ever heard come from his mouth. The ex con gripped Peter's shoulders tightly as he pulled him as close as he could without melting their bodies together. Neal felt himself drifting in and out of ecstasy as he felt his senses being sent into overdrive.

Neal collapsed under the weight of exhaustion, he felt drained in more ways than one as he managed to drag his body into Peter's embrace. Reaching up gingerly Neal touched the two large black and purple love bites on his neck that at that point were the size of an apple. "You better hope I can cover these up tomorrow or I'm going to have a lot of explaining to do," Neal mumbled as he put his head down on Peter's shoulder and felt what little energy he had drain away. Peter smirked at the marks and kissed Neal's forehead softly before closing his eyes and falling asleep.

* * *

><p>As the morning sun broke over the city Neal had already risen from his sleep. Grabbing a complementary robe from the walk in closet he grabbed his key car and slipped out of his and Peter's room and went down the hall and knocked on his friend's door. After a couple more knocks and almost unrecognizable Jin opened the door and shoved a duffle bag of gym clothes and running shoes and socks at Neal and grumbled something about sleep before shutting the door in Neal's face. Returning to his room Neal dressed in the clothes he borrowed and left the room again and went to Central Park to jog like he did almost every morning before work. Running through the park Neal enjoyed the change of scenery as he kept up a steady pace as he ran.<p>

Turning around at a statue Neal made his way back to the hotel and walked inside. Making his way to the front desk Neal looked at the man behind the counter. "I would like to order two Armani suits, I would like them sized to my specifications and delivered in an hour to room seventeen-oh-seven, and if they are on time I will be sure to tip very generously. The first one I want is charcoal grey and white shirt and a navy blue tie," Neal said before giving the man Peter's exact sizes from heart. "Next I want a black suit with a white shirt and a wine colored tie," he added before giving his sizes. "I'll also need two pairs of shoes, also socks, and silk underwear," Neal added giving his and Peter's sizes. "Give them this credit card number and tell them to make good work," he said being professional as he left the lobby and made his way upstairs.

Upon entering his room Neal found that Peter was still asleep. Smirking at the sight he slipped into the marble bathroom and took a shower to wash himself clean. Using the soap provided Neal smirked at the scent of the soap reminded him of the soap Peter used. When he felt clean enough Neal turned the water off and ventured out of the bathroom in just a towel. Peter smirked as Neal walked past him; clearing his throat he watched the younger man nearly jump out of his skin. "Peter… you almost scared me to death," Neal said putting his hand over his heart and the key to the warehouse, Peter chuckled and pulled Neal onto his lap as he sat at the small kitchen table.

Before they were able to share a good morning kiss there was a knock on the door. Neal pulled away and sauntered over to the door still only in a towel, opening the door he looked at the man in front of him. "Put them in the walk in closet and I'll get your tip," Neal remarked as he walked away knowing full well the man was watching him as was Peter. Leaning over the chair looking for his pants Neal sighed and got on his hands and knees and looked under the chair until he found what he was looking for. After getting up Neal paid the man and smirked at him as he left. Peter waited until the door was closed before he grabbed Neal and shoved him against the wall.

At first Neal thought Peter was mad at him for flirting until he began to kiss him. When they broke for air Peter walked to the closet to find out what Neal had delivered. Once they were dressed Neal looked at himself in the bathroom mirror and smirked when he saw the hickeys on his neck were well covered by the collar of his shirt. Walking out of the bathroom he looked Peter over and whistled. "You clean up very well; we really need to thank Nick for setting all this up for us in such a short amount of time," Neal remarked as he finished getting ready to leave. After checking out of the hotel Peter got his car back from the valet and drove to the office. "I want you to finish up any reports you have left over from yesterday Hughes is breathing down my neck to get everything done on time," Peter said as he pulled into traffic. Neal put his hand up against his neck and rubbed over one of the hickeys a bit.

"Um Peter… I need the afternoon off…every day for the next two months," Neal said as he turned his gaze away from Peter. Peter swerved to miss another car. "Is there a reason you need to be free every afternoon?" Peter asked as he ignored the horn blaring from the car going past him. Neal smiled and looked out the passenger window. "It's for the surprise I was telling you about before," Neal said as he kept looking out the window. "If you get all your work done then I don't see why you can't the afternoons off. You will need an escort though, if you can find someone who will be able to stand being with you every day you need them then have at it," Peter said with a smile knowing that none of his agents would even take overtime pay to be with Neal all afternoon. Neal smiled "Well then I'm glad Nick already said yes when I asked him last night before we left the office," Neal said with a smirk.

* * *

><p>When they arrived at the office Neal ran off and went to talk to his brother and cousin. Peter ignored the few wolf whistles he got from his agents as he walked into his office. Diana followed close behind. "Looking very sharp… is that a real Armani suit?" she asked checking the suit out. "Yeah it's real, Neal got them for us this morning, I didn't ask how he did it; I feel that it's best not ask too many questions," Peter said as he removed his jacket and sat at his desk. "Hey Diana before you go, those friends of Neal they have expensive tastes…could you get a hold of that Interpol friend of yours from Japan and get their names from the sign in sheet downstairs and see just see if-" "You want to know if they're here to work a job with Neal's help, I'll get right on it," she said leaving the office and began to work on her search.<p>

The morning moved at a crawl, Peter attended a few private meetings with Hughes about their views on finding the missing treasure and Vincent Adler. Peter ignored the guilt about lying about knowing about the treasure's location. When the meeting ended Peter walked out of Hughes's office and made his way back into his office. Peter thought back to Neal's request of taking the afternoons off, it bothered him that Neal was keeping something from him and claiming it was a surprise. _ The only surprise Neal could be coming up with is running off with the treasure and letting me take the fall…_ Peter thought, freezing at his thoughts Peter looked up and watched Neal working hard on the reports in front of him. _No… that's not Neal anymore, at least I hope it's not,_ he added as he tried to get back into the mind set of working.

By lunch time Neal sauntered in without knocking and smiled. "Nick and I are heading out now, I don't know how long I'll be but if it's before the end of the work day do you want us to come back?" Neal asked as he stood blocking Peter's view of the bullpen. "No… you can go home after, but before you go Neal… can I ask you something and would you answer truthfully?" Peter asked as he mulled over his question in his mind. Neal sat down and waited for the question "If I let you keep the items of a certain nature would you be tempted to take them and run?"Peter asked hoping he was wrong about the other man. Neal smiled "Truthfully, if you were asking me two years ago I would have taken every last little thing and made a run for it, but now… I wouldn't even dare it would hurt too much," Neal said before he got up and left the office.

Peter sat there and watched as Neal walked out of the office with his brother and waited by the elevator. _Maybe he has changed…he's being honest about a lot more than I expected,_ Peter thought as he got back to work, Neal's answer still buzzing in his head and making him smile slightly. Diana walked back into Peter's office. "My contact said they're clean, Neal's the only one with a record in that whole group. So it looks like they're in the clear…" Diana said as she leaned against the bookcase. "My next question is what are they doing in the city and why does Neal need to take every afternoon off for the next two months?" Peter asked rhetorically.

Japanese Translations

1) This is Burke, Peter he's my friend and boss  
>2)"Nick said he was you boyfriend"<br>"Yes he is"  
>3) How about we go out to lunch?<br>4)Colin Traux, held me as a slave for months, it was horrible... the abuse but Peter never gave up on me and he saved me from that life


	10. Conclusion

**(( I apologize for the long wait, first my power went out during the hurricane and then my beta was busy so she couldn't get to it. I've already started the new series sequel the new story is called A Conman's Legacy. I will post the first chapter in about three or four days.))  
><strong>

**Chapter 9: Conclusion **

Peter walked into the FBI building on the cool October morning; he nursed the warm coffee in his hands and as he walked into the office he saw Neal sitting there working on his paperwork. Two months have gone by and every day Neal always seems to be changing, he's grown out his hair and he's even lightened his hair color but every time I ask him about it he finds something else to talk about. Peter thought as he stopped in front of Neal's desk and watched him pushing his hair behind his ear again. "It's getting pretty long; have you thought of cutting it at all?" Peter asked with a smirk. Neal looked up with a million watt smile. "Can't… Nick said I should grow it out and lighten it," Neal said as he looked back down at his paperwork.

"Well then can you at least come to my office to talk for a few minutes or do you have to clear it with your brother first?"Peter asked as he sipped his coffee. Neal stood up slowly and followed Peter into his office and shut the door behind him and took his usual seat in front of the desk. "Is there something bothering you Peter? You seem upset about something," Neal remarked as he tried to read Peter's face. Peter put his coffee down before removing his coat and putting it over the back of his chair. "I'm not really upset I'm just worried about you Neal. You've been leaving work early, you've changed your looks and I can't help but think you're getting ready to run. Even though you're promising me you won't," Peter said as he sat down. "I already told you I wasn't going to run, in fact I've told you at least thirty times over the last two months I wasn't going to, and yet you still think I'm going to run, I thought you had more trust in me Peter," Neal said as he stood up. "I thought by now I've proven I'm changing my ways but you don't want to believe it I guess," Neal said as he stood up.

Rising up as well Peter looked at Neal and saw the distrust forming in his eyes. "It's not that I don't trust you, it's the fact that you changed your looks for weeks before changing back and escaping prison… I've had Hughes asking me for days what you are up to so I had to ask. I didn't want to have to ask you but you brought it on yourself with your change in behavior," Peter said as he walked around his desk. Neal chewed on his bottom lip as he stood there, "I shouldn't have jumped down your throat about trusting me, I did change my looks and I can understand why you both suspected me of being sneaky with my hair and not being here in the afternoons," Neal apologized. "Hey, are you busy tonight?" Neal asked with a smile.

"No, I was going to sit and watch the game on TV tonight, why do you ask?" Peter asked curious to know what Neal was up to. "Well then here, you and El should take these," Neal said pulling a small envelope out of his front pocket. Taking the envelope Peter opened it and saw two tickets. "What are these?" he asked looking at the contents of the envelope. "What are these tickets to?" Peter asked looking them over. "Oh where is the fun in it if I tell you, I need to get back to work now," Neal said as he left the office and walked back to his desk. On the way to his desk Neal handed out more envelopes to everyone in the bullpen. "I want you all to come tonight for a very special surprise and I'm paying for the tickets so show up, and if you promise to show up I'll give you all back your wallets," Neal said with a smile that forced everyone to look in their pockets and purses only to find their wallets still there.

Once he was done handing out the envelopes Neal walked over to his brother's desk. "So is everything set for tonight?" he asked. Nick smirked "I have everything set up for tonight you just remember to take it easy so you have your energy for tonight," Nick remarked with a smirk. Neal nodded as he sat on the edge of his brother's desk. "I'll save my voice starting now," Neal said before closing his mouth. Smirking at his brother Nick handed him a notebook and a pen. Moving to his desk Neal dropped into his seat and leaned back and looked at the ceiling. _I have to go all day without talking and drink warm tea before later today;_ Neal thought as he closed his eyes and put his head back against his chair to rest.

* * *

><p>For a Monday morning the hours seemed to drag on forever. Peter had found himself nodding off a few times. <em>I swear all con artists and forgers take this time off…it's strange but every year it's slow between now and the New Year, <em>Peter thought as he looked down into the bullpen and found Neal asleep with his feet on his desk. Getting up from his desk Peter walked to Neal's and tapped him on the foot startling the younger man a bit. "Let's take a walk maybe the cold air will keep you up," Peter said as he threw Neal his wool coat. After putting his coat on Neal followed Peter until they were out of the building. Shivering against the strong autumn breeze Neal buried himself deeper into his coat. "Peter it's freezing out here," Neal whined as he ducked his head down a bit. Peter rolled his eyes "We're almost there so quit complaining," Peter said as he led Neal down the sidewalk and into a restaurant.

Neal shivered again as they were led to a booth far from anyone else and hidden by a floating wall. As soon as they were seated Neal scooted around the half round table until he was right against Peter. "You are such a wimp when it comes to the cold," Peter remarked with a smile as he felt Neal slip his hand into his to keep warm. When the waiter arrived Neal grabbed the menu and looked it over before ordering right away, Peter looked at the menu and quickly ordered to send the waiter away. "Hughes has been asking me if I have any leads on the treasure or your former father-in-law," Peter remarked as he grabbed his glass of water.

Sighing softly Neal looked at his lover, "I'm sorry I got you involved with the treasure like that. I wouldn't have shown you the warehouse if I had known this would happen. I'll make you a deal Peter, give me a year and I will give up the treasure to the FBI and I won't tell them that you know anything I promise," Neal said keeping his voice down. _Peter has been sucked into this, I'm forcing him to lie for me…now that I think about it did I have an ulterior motive? I really didn't think before I showed him maybe deep down I wanted him to know about the secret so that we could share something, but maybe I wanted him to know so he would be stuck in the same boat as me…_Neal thought as he watched the agent beside him. When their lunch arrived Neal picked up his fork and began to pick at his food.

"Just eat Neal we'll talk about your worries later after this thing tonight you've invited everyone too," Peter said as he made sure Neal had started eating before he started. Lunch finished quickly and after paying the check with cash as the two men made their way back to the Federal building. The day moved slowly even for Peter, he was on the verge of finding a deck of cards to play solitaire when Neal walked into his office unannounced. "I have to go get ready for the concert, so I was wondering if I could leave early." Neal asked nonchalantly as he walked farther into the office. Peter looked at his watch then up at Neal. "The concert is at eight it's only three, how can you take that long to get ready…the answer is no. You'll have enough time to get ready after work tonight, I've given you two months of getting out of work early with no reason, so get back to work," Peter said as he went back to the minimal work that was in front of him.

Neal returned to his desk and began to goof off and tap his pen on his desk in hopes he would annoy everyone enough to get himself sent home. After a couple minutes Neal realized everyone had begun to ignore him. Huffing loudly Neal looked at his phone to check the time before he decided to use his backup plan. Looking around Neal began to drum his pen against his desk and hum loudly. Out of the corner of his eye Neal could see people looking up and glaring at him. _It's not enough I guess I have to really pull out all the stops…_Neal thought as he stopped tapping and grabbed some gum out of his drawer and began to snap his gum loudly as he drummed his pen on his notebook.

"I swear to God Neal if you don't stop that right now I'm going to shoot you," Diana said from her desk as she gripped her pen tightly. "Am I doing something to annoy you?" Neal asked casually with a smirk as he continued to snap his gum even louder. Peter looked up when he heard raised voices from his agents. Noticing that everyone looked like they were going to burn Neal on a stake Peter rose from his desk and walked out to Neal's desk. "Stop what you're doing because I'm not going to send you home early. So throw that gum out and stop acting out," Peter said putting his foot down on the matter. Neal locked eyes with Peter as he reached into his drawer and pulled out another stick of gum and began to chew and snap it louder than before.

Hughes walked out of his office. "Caffrey get out of here you are a distraction to my agents," Hughes barked at Neal. Neal smiled and jumped up from his desk and grabbed his coat. "Later everyone, see you tonight," Neal yelled as he ran out of the office and whistled a tune as he waited for the elevator. Peter returned to work his curiosity of why Neal wanted to get out of work so early hit him. As soon as he got into his office Peter pulled up Neal's tracking data only to find the site was down for maintenance. Rubbing away the oncoming headache Peter could feel his stress level going up greatly.

* * *

><p>By the end of the work day Peter was on edge with everyone as he tried to call Neal four times only to have his calls go to voice mail. "Damn it Neal what are you keeping from me…" Peter grumbled as he shut his computer down for the night. Making his way out of the office Peter drove home and walked in the front door just before Elizabeth began to make dinner. "Hey hon, I was just about to start dinner what would you like?" Elizabeth asked as she gave Peter a quick hug and kiss. "Nothing too big, Neal gave everyone concert tickets for some band tonight at Madison Square Garden. I think I'm going to just not go I'm tired," Peter said as he dropped on the couch and sighed.<p>

"Oh no you don't, go shower and change your clothes we're going to that concert tonight because Neal invited us for a reason. Anyone else we know going besides Neal?" Elizabeth asked as she tried to plan a meal that wouldn't take too long to make. "Oh just the entire White Collar division and his brother and cousin, his sister- in-law and I'm not sure who else was invited. But all I know is it's a band I've never even heard of," Peter said as he pulled the tickets out and handed them to his wife. "Alright then, move it mister you need to wash up before we go and dress casual we're going to have fun tonight," Elizabeth said as she took the tickets and swatted Peter with them until he went upstairs and got ready to go.

Trudging up the stairs Peter stripped off his suit and got into the shower and washed the dirt and grime of the city off his body. When he was done he dressed in jeans and a tee shirt. Heading downstairs he found Elizabeth already dressed in jeans and a band shirt. "We should call a cab it would be easier to get there," Elizabeth said as she grabbed her purse and strung it over her shoulder. After hailing a cab Peter got in with his wife and gave the driver their destination.

Peter walked into Madison Square Garden with Elizabeth; all they had for information was a cryptic letter and a pair of tickets for a concert that night for a band they had never heard of. As they got inside they saw Nick standing by a staircase that led to the upper levels. "You guys made it, come on the others are waiting," he said leading the Burkes up the stairs to their seats. When they got there they noticed that the entire White Collar Division had come and was seated in the section along with Neal's family and extended family on both his mother and father's sides along with Mozzie and Alex were seated in the first seven rows.

Nick ushered Peter and Elizabeth to their seats beside him and Catherine. "Okay we're here; will someone explain what's going on and where is Neal? I haven't seen much of Neal for the last two months but these last three weeks have been ridiculous. I know you know what's going on Nick," Peter said. Before Nick could respond a young Asian woman ran up to Nick and whispered something in his ear. "Excuse me, I'm needed and to answer your question Burke, just enjoy the show," Nick said as he got up from his seat and left with the woman.

As they waited as the rest of the patrons were filed into the arena, nearly an hour later the lights were turned off plunging the crowd in darkness. Soon the music began with a classical intro and green laser lights and smoke filled the air. The people all around the auditorium began to scream. A prerecorded beginning began before ending just as soon as it began.

Soon the white lights trained on six tube shaped objects being lowered from above the view of the curtains that had been set up near the ceiling of the domed roof. The cameras panned on the faces of the singers everyone in the group that knew Neal felt their jaws drop.

"Nagai jumon Ni kakaru furi nemuru setsuna no yoru wa" Neal began the song in perfect Japanese which didn't shock Peter too much.

"Jiyuu o Te Ni shita ningyo no yuuwaku fukai umi ni ochiteyuku Ah" Kame sang as he pushed his bangs out of his eyes.

Tsumetai mizu ga kokoro kuruwasu hada awasetemo anshin dekinai

Paranoia, Think of you futari dake tsuresari hikaru nami ga nomikomu unmei

I will see through your secret tsumi to batsu

I will see through your secret tsukiyabure

Mashou no tobira ni kono te kaketa toki kimi no naka oboreru kakugo

* * *

><p>The tubes began to rise and fall in a wave pattern as the band sang. Each movement mimicking a perfect ocean wave as the song continued.<p>

* * *

><p>Fukaku nagai kanjou mukidashi no Crazy<p>

Izanau mizube Ni nido to modorenai yoru no umi Ni tokete yuku Ah

Kizukeba futari torinokosareta hitotsu Ni natte oyogu shika nakatta

Can't stop lovin' you juujika o kakagete zutto kimi o mamorinuku Ah

I will see through your secret kuroi mitsu

I will see through your secret tachiagare

Eien no kusari Ni futari tsunagarete kimi no tame dake Ni sakebeba

I will see through your secret tsumi to batsu

I will see through your secret Tsukiyabure

Unmei, no tobira o kono te de aketa toki umi no hate hikar?

O tsukame (1)

As the song came to the end the tubes froze in midair before rising back into the rafters as the lights went dark and the smoke grew thick before they were lowered quickly down to the stage.

* * *

><p>Peter put the pieces to the strange puzzle together; everything finally made sense with Neal's lack of energy at work and his reason for changing his hair the weeks before. Soon the stage was lit up; many who couldn't see the stage well watched the giant screens as the cameras panned on the band. Neal walked forward and held his arms up as the fans began to scream louder as he moved to the edge of the stage. "Kon'nichiwa…Madisonsukueagaden!" (2) Neal yelled into microphone getting another wave of screaming from the crowds in front of the stage. Neal turned and looked at his co-leader of the band walking up behind him.<p>

"Watashi wa dono yona kyoku ga tsugitsugi okonau hitsuyo ga Kame o shiranai nodesu ka?" (3) Neal asked as the camera zoomed in on Kame as he lifted the mic to his lips. Instantly the fans were silent. Kame looked around his eyes giving off an intense sex appeal. "Tsuki..."(4) he whispered in a tone that made the women in the audience scream as the Biwa intro began. Soon a guitar entered with the drums joined in before the Biwa resumed.

Neal moved back and joined the others as Aki began to sing with Jin, Keido and Hiro. They all began to dance in perfect step that mimicked each other.

"Tsukiyo no yume ao ni somaru omoidetachi kanawanu koi to shitteta"  
>"Itsu kara darou kakechigaeta kimochi futatsu" Neal and Kame joined in and broke away from the group and faced each other as they sang to each other.<br>Mada maniau? nante ne  
>Asaki yume samenaide<br>Amai me de aibushite  
>Sotto...<br>WHEN I FEEL YOU  
>WHEN I LOVE YOU<p>

Ichiya kagiri no tsuki no hikari  
>Subete nugisutete habataku chou ni naru<br>Umarekawattemo dakishimete ne  
>Onaji yasashisa de watashi wo aishite<br>SO PLEASE

UNDER THE MOONLIGHT

Moving around the stage the group moved in perfect step as they danced. It was because of two months of training they knew every step perfectly. Peter kept his eyes trained on Neal as he moved around the stage with grace he also saw how much fun he was having with his friends.

Oboro no zukiyo kiri ni kasumu futari no hibi  
>Kowaresou na yakusoku<br>Uso de mo iianata no taisetsu de aritakute  
>Senobishite oikaketa<p>

Adeyaka ni maiodoru  
>Utsukushiku sasowarete<br>Motto...  
>WHEN I MISS YOU<br>WHEN I WANT YOU

Ichiya kagiri no tsuki no hikari  
>Subete nugisutete habataku chou ni naru<br>Umarekawattemo dakishimete ne  
>Onaji yasashisa de watashi wo aishite<br>SO PLEASE

UNDER THE MOONLIGHT

The lights darkened so there was only a silver light like moon light on the stage as all six of them sat on the stage and looked up at the projection of the moon on the ceiling.

Kagayaita harukana kioku wo  
>Yobisamashite susumu yo<br>Demo nanigenai chiisana koto bakkari  
>Kienai kesenai<p>

Ichiya kagiri no tsuki no hikari  
>Subete nugisutete habataku chou ni naru<br>Umarekawattemo dakishimete ne  
>Onaji yasashisa de watashi wo aishite<p>

Ichiya kagiri no tsuki no hikari  
>Subete nugisutete chiri yuku hana ni naru<br>Umarekawattemo dakishimete ne  
>Yume no naka de ii yo watashi wo aishite<br>SO PLEASE….. (5)

When the song ended the fans we're screaming until they were hoarse, Peter sat back in his seat and looked at the giant screen closest to them as the camera zoomed in on Kame and Neal who had their arms over each other's shoulders. Neal was smiling as his long hair stuck to his neck and face. Peter watched Neal closely. _So this really what Neal did for those seven years of his life that I never knew about...? Why did he give it up and become a con he seems to be having fun here,_ Peter thought as he watched Neal slip away from the others and go back stage. Soon another song began but Peter barely listened to it without Neal singing he wasn't as transfixed by the catchy tunes and after nearly an hour of songs Peter became worried about Neal; especially after he saw the rest of Neal's group run off stage. A brief intermission began as the roadies moved the band equipment off the stage and move things into place for the next set. Elizabeth looked at her husband and smiled at him, because of great acoustics the music hadn't been very loud at all so their hearing wasn't gone yet.

As the stage crew finished up Peter glanced at his watched and saw that it was getting close to midnight. He wondered just how much longer the concert would go on for. Just then the green laser lights started again with a classical introduction on the giant screens the cameras were pointed at a man in a cage who looked like Neal it took Peter all of two seconds to notice it was Nick dressed like Neal. The cage began to rise at least thirty feet into the air with Nick reaching out for help when it stopped and the door opened and Nick grabbed onto the edge and hung on a bar before dropping the thirty feet to the ground below. The lights cut out and red spot lights began to search the area as taped horns and dogs barking played as the lights searched. Men ran out onto the stage carrying large banner flag and others with swords lined up as the lights moved up to the lowered catwalk where someone was sitting in a woman's kimono and a goblin kabuki mask.

When the lights rose a soft intro began to play on violin and piano. The figure began to open a large fan and swing it before closing it and continuing to move the fan around gracefully before putting it aside and running their hand over the mask. Grabbing the bottom they pulled the mask away to reveal it was Neal with his long hair tied up with hair sticks. Getting up he grabbed the fan and begun to spin around with it open as a large banner unraveled behind him on a track depicting a Japanese garden. Grabbing a paper umbrella Neal spun it around before closing it. On the stage below the men with the swords and banners were moving around.

Neal was lowered from the cat walk by wire. When he got to the stage below the lights turned off and he was bathed in a red light. Raising his finger to his lips he shushed as the music began and the fans screamed.

Shihaisareru yubisaki made  
>Kuruoshi hodo shibirete<br>Atama no naka kowarete yuku

Dancing around Neal took one of the male dancer's hands and turned in a wide circle with him.

Watashi wa ima naze doko  
>Me no mae kara hikari ga kie<br>Towa no nemuri SHI demo

Sasoi monku  
>Akai sono kuchibiru<p>

Putting a stripe of lipstick on his right side Neal gave a small smirk as he did it.

Shibireru kokoro odoru midarete yuku

Moving side to side provocatively Neal pulled the outer kimono closer around his shoulders as he danced.

Sono chi ni oborete somaru

Mihatenu chi ni mukau me wa  
>Nani wo utsushi dashite yuku no?<br>Douka douka watakushi wo  
>Sono te de tsukande ite<p>

Sliding the outer kimono down again to his elbows Neal moved rocked his hips.

Tomo ni kizamu haritachi ni  
>Oku no hou wo kamishimete<br>Zutto zutto samenu yo ni  
>Mune ni te wo ate negau<br>Ai wo...

Sliding his hand into his inner kimono he ran his hand on his left side pushing it down a bit. Turning his back to his fans he slid the outer down before stripping it off and reaching up and undoing his hair sticks Neal licked his lips so the microphone could pick it up. Shaking his hair out, when he turned around his left arm and side of his chest was exposed and he was carrying a sword.

The beat of the song picked up and the women in the audience screamed twice as loud at that point at the amount of skin exposed.

Kizu darake no kokoro sae mo  
>Anata wo miteieru wa<br>Yokubou to ka sou ja naku  
>Muishiki na no SHItte mo<p>

Neal walked down the long center stage and moved and slashed his sword at the air as water shot out of the stage in jets giving him an almost magical appearance.

Kizu wo iyasu kusuri kimochi ii no  
>Asu wa izuko he ikareru<br>Sonna no iya na no  
>Sono chi ni oborete somaru<p>

When he reached the end of the stage he handed his sword away and took a large purple umbrella from one of the dancers and stood on it as three jets of water shot up and with his wire system he was lifted into the air.

Anata to no hibi yume mite  
>Chitte itta hoshitachi mo<br>Douka douka samenu yo ni  
>Mune ni te wo ate negau<p>

Yasashii no yara nani na no ka  
>Ichibyou goto ni iro wo kaeru<br>Zutto zutto watakushi wo  
>Sono te de tsukande ite ai de<p>

After he was lowered Neal was handed a pair of large sparklers and risen into the air again as he spun in the air before being lowered again and handed a scroll

Sasoi monku  
>Kizu wo iyasu<p>

Soon larger jets of water shot into the air and gave off a look of a cage of water with Neal in the middle.

Mihatenu chi ni mukau me wa  
>Nani wo utsushi dashite yuku no?<br>Douka douka watakushi wo  
>Sono te de tsukande ite<p>

Rising into the air again Neal held the scroll and began to fly around the arena as he sang. Grabbing another scroll from the rafters he took everyone by surprise.

Tomo ni kizamu haritachi ni  
>Oku no hou wo kamishimete<br>Zutto zutto samenu yo ni  
>Mune ni te wo ate negau<p>

Anata to no hibi yume mite  
>Chitte itta hoshitachi mo<br>Douka douka samenu yo ni  
>Mune ni te wo ate negau<p>

Being lowered one last time Neal dropped one scroll and wrapped himself with the other.

Yasashii no yara nani na no ka  
>Ichibyou goto ni iro wo kaeru<br>Zutto zutto watakushi wo  
>Sono te de tsukannde ite ai de (6)<p>

When the song ended Neal wiped his lipstick off and unwrapped himself from the scroll and threw it as it retracted back into the rafters as the fans cheered. Peter found himself clapping along with the other fans. Neal bowed to the fans as Kame came up beside Neal and bowed as well. Soon the fans were yelling the same word over and over. Peter felt a flash of jealousy when he saw the word on the screens. Looking to his left he saw Elizabeth chanting the word as well. "Kisu…Kisu…" (7) Looking back at the screen to see what would happen.

Neal and Kame faced each other and shared a kiss that made the women scream. They held the kiss as the camera flashes filled the air. When they pulled apart they bowed once again they bowed and were joined by the other members as they bowed as well. "Watashi wa kore ga shō no owarida to itte mōshiwake arimasenga, wareware wa futatabi anata no fan o mite hoshii zen sekai no ichi-nenkan tsuā ni narudarou"(8) Neal said as he looked out at the audience with his puppy dog eyes that made the girls squeal. Bowing once more the group waved at everyone and reached down to shake hands to the close fans as they walked back down the long stage to the instrumental music to one of their songs.

* * *

><p>Peter rose from his seat and stretched his arms over his head. Watching everyone below leave he thought about Neal on stage. "You came…" Neal said as he walked up to Peter and Elizabeth, he had traded in the kimono for some low rise jeans and a band shirt so that he blended in with the fans. Peter turned around and looked Neal over for a moment. "Well that was one hell of a surprise Neal, so that's what you did for those missing years you wouldn't talk about," Peter said forced his eyes not to look Neal over again. "Peter can we talk some more about it later tomorrow I'm beat and I want to get some sleep," Neal said with a yawn to emphasis how tired he was. Before he could even say anything Elizabeth draped her arms around Peter and Neal. "You can stay the night at our place that way you don't have to drag yourself all the way to June's tonight," she said as she walked toward the closest exit with them.<p>

Neal smiled as he was led through the stairwells and out into the night. After hailing a cab the three piled in. Peter gave the driver his address and leaned back and found Neal was starting to drift off. When the cab stopped at its destination Neal opened his eyes and got out with Elizabeth while Peter paid the driver. As they walked inside Neal made a beeline for the couch and dropped on it. "Hey Peter do I have to go to work tomorrow I'm really tired," Neal said with a pout. Peter rubbed his eyes a bit as he scooted Neal until he was sitting up. "I guess you can come in late tomorrow, now I'm going to check the scores for the games I missed you can stay and suffer listening to sports scores of you can go upstairs and sleep," he said trying to shoo Neal away.

Snuggling up against Peter Neal smiled as he closed his eyes and instantly fell asleep. Peter rolled his eyes and let Neal fall asleep against him. Once he was done Peter shifted the sleeping man a bit and put him into a more comfortable position on the couch before heading upstairs for the night.

* * *

><p>By noon the next day Peter wondered if Neal was actually going to show up, he was dead to the world when Peter had left for work that morning. Quarter after twelve Neal strolled into the office still dressed in his jeans and tee shirt from the night before. Neal walked through the bullpen and up into Hughes's office and shut the door behind him. Peter forced himself back into his work and strained his ears to listen to the conversation in the other office. A little after two Neal walked out of the office and strolled into Peter's with a wide smile on his face. "What are you so happy about?" Peter asked as he raised his eye brow a bit.<p>

Neal tried to contain his smile "Oh nothing, I will tell you later," Neal said as he dropped into the seat his tee shirt riding up a bit exposing a little skin. "So is that it for the surprises or are you still holding onto a few?" Peter asked as he leaned back in his seat. Neal wiped the smirk off his face before getting up from his seat. "Maybe… maybe not," Neal said with a smile as he got up from the chair. "I do have one little secret that I can and want to share right now," he added as he leaned over Peter's desk so that passersby got a good view of his backside. Peter glanced over Neal's shoulder and saw people checking him out in his tight jeans. "You're not wearing underwear again and you're going to try and tempt me all day," Peter said figuring it out already. "Darn you figured it out already," Neal said with fake disappointment. "I better get to work before you bend me over your desk… then again," he said with a smirk.

"Get out and get to work," Peter said as he pointed toward the door. "And keep your pants on until after work," he added as he watched Neal leave and go to his desk. The rest of the work day passed quickly as did the rest of the week.

* * *

><p>The weekend was a blur to Peter he could barely remember the sports games he watched or the walks he had taken with Satchmo. Walking back into the office early Monday morning he felt like there was something off about the day. "Diana have you seen Neal yet this morning?" Peter asked as he stopped by Diana's desk.<p>

Diana shook her head "I haven't seen him since Friday so he must be running late," Peter sighed he was wondering why Neal didn't call him all weekend. "Burke, if you're looking for Caffrey he's not coming in today or for the rest of the year, he's been given temporary release from custody and he's been placed in his brother's custody until he returns," Hughes said as he walked over to Peter. "If you want to catch him he should be at JFK right now waiting for his…" Hughes stopped when Peter turned on his heel and practically ran to the stairs he wasn't ready to waste time waiting, nearly breaking the sound barrier running down twenty-one flights of stairs Peter rushed to his car and got in and made his way to the airport as fast as possible.

Peter let out streams of curses at the other motorists as he fought morning traffic, when he got to the airport he parked his car outside the door and looked at the officer and flashed his badge and ordered him to watch his car. Running inside Peter pulled out his cell phone and called Neal, "Neal, where are you? I will throw you in jail for the rest of your life if you don't tell me," Peter warned as he looked around trying to use his gut to find him.

"I'm at gate I seventy-nine waiting for my plane it will be boarding in thirty minutes," Neal said knowing Peter wasn't joking about his warning. Before Neal could even ask a question Peter hung up and began to run down the terminal and flashed his badge at every checkpoint, he knew that it was wrong since he wasn't there on a federal case but he needed to see Neal off.

When he got to the waiting area he saw Neal and his brother with the rest of his band waiting by the large window for their plane to start boarding. "How did you manage to con Hughes into letting you go?" Peter asked as he stood before Neal and saw his lips thin for a moment before he smiled. "I've got some time to talk so I'll make this quick, we're going on a world tour, we talked Hughes into letting me go only after our meeting yesterday. I guess it helps to threaten suing the FBI for psychological damages, he signed the paperwork to release me and gave me my passport back," Neal said with a smirk. Peter groaned "What am I going to do with you… so, does this mean you're free forever or what?" Peter asked trying to figure the arraignment out.

"No, I'm free for a year then I finish up my last year with the FBI when I return, oh and before I go, do you remember when I told you I didn't want to share you anymore, but I would let you decided… well take the year to think it over I don't want you to make the wrong choice because you think it's right," Neal said as he kept his voice level. "Now boarding flight two-seven-two to Montreal, first class passengers, please have your ticket and passports ready, once again first class only boarding…" the voice over the PA said. Neal looked up at the speaker on the pillar beside him for a moment. "Well it looks like I have to get going, but before I do; I want you to hold onto this for me…because I trust you," Neal said as he undid the chain that held the key to the warehouse where the treasure was being kept. Peter took the key and looked at it before putting it around his own neck and slipping it under his collar to hide it.

Neal bit his lip "So you weren't planning on saying goodbye again…I'm lucky I caught you this time before you left," Peter said with a smile." This way I can say goodbye and make sure you get on that plane safely and I will be here in exactly one year to pick you up so you better come home or I will hunt you down and lock you away from the world," Peter promised. Neal smiled and chuckled," I promise I'll be back," Neal said as he walked away from Peter and grabbed his bag and handed the woman by the door his ticket and passport for her to check before he boarded the plane with the others.

* * *

><p><strong>1 ( Taboo song)<strong>  
><strong>2 Hello, Madison Square Garden!<strong>  
><strong>3 I don't know Kame, what song should we do next?<strong>  
><strong>4 Moon<strong>  
><strong>5 (moon song)<strong>  
><strong>6 1582<strong>  
><strong>7 Kiss Kiss<strong>  
><strong>8 I'm sorry to say this is the end of the show but we're going on tour for one year all around the world we hope to see you fans again<strong>

**-  
>( I do not own these songs if you wish to hear them please go to Youtube and type in Taboo, 1582, and Moon to hear them. I do not make money from these songs these belong to a Japanese band Kat-Tun.)<br>**


	11. Author Note

A Conman's Legacy has been posted just so everyone knows. I would like to thank all my fans for reading this series and I hope you like the next one and please review to help keep me going.

Loves and Hughs Bun Bun Babe


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